A word of explanation: The Old Testament name of God given in Ex. 3.14 is
YHWH in English letters. Hebrew has no written vowels. The Jews did not speak
the name of God out of reverence and perhaps fear of blasphemy by not
pronouncing it correctly. When that divine name appears in the Old Testament,
the Jews would substitute Adonai, Hebrew for \u201cMy Lord.\u201d Translators of the Old
Testament followed this lead by translating YHWH as \u201cthe LORD.\u201d When you see
\u201cthe LORD\u201d in the Old Testament, that stands for YHWH. YHWH means \u201cI AM.\u201d
I have debated for years over how to translate the divine name. I have come to the
conclusion that when I see YHWH or \u201cthe LORD,\u201d since I speak English I will
translate YHWH as its English equivalent: I AM. So \u2013 when you see \u201cI AM\u201d in this
work, it is the personal name of God as revealed in Ex. 3.14, in English.
Introduction
The Epistle to the Hebrews is unlike any other book in the New Testament.
It draws heavily on Old Testament themes in a way that no other New Testament
book does in developing its typology, but its main difference is that it is a fresh
look at the Lord Jesus Christ. It is like a breath of fresh air. This does not mean that
the other books are stale, for all are fresh in their own way, but it treats of the Lord
in a way no other book does.
We mentioned the Old Testament typology that is so fully developed in
Hebrews. That is, those Jewish institutions such as the covenant, the Sabbath, the
high priesthood, the temple, and the sacrificial system are interpreted in terms of
their fulfillment in Christ.
Hebrews deals with the Lord’s humanity in a strong way, making it quite
clear that he had to be human to do what he did for us. At the same time it refutes
those who believed in the first century that the Lord Jesus was not truly human,
because all matter is evil and all good is spirit, so that he could not have been
human, an unbiblical belief. Both the full humanity and the full divinity of the
Lord are upheld in these pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only is the Jewish high priesthood dealt with, but the writer sets forth
a whole new understanding of priesthood that supersedes the Levitical
priesthood.
The unchanging nature of Christ is affirmed, both in 1.12 in contrast to the
created universe, skies and earth, and in 13.8 in the statement that he is \u201cyesterday
and today the same, and into the ages,\u201d that is, forever. If we continue on with
Christ in our relationship with him and to the end of our lives, we need not fear
that he will change and what we have relied on for our eternal well-being will no
longer be true.
The superiority of the Lord in every way is a central theme of the letter,
forming the basis of its argument. Austin-Sparks has an interesting couple of
paragraphs in The On-High Calling:
This word [better] occurs thirteen times in the Letter and always in a very
instructive connection. I will just mention the references:
Chapter 1:4 – “Better than the angels”. (That is a high place at which to
begin!)
Chapter 6:9 – “We are persuaded of better things of you”.
Chapter 7:19 – “A better hope”.
Chapter 7:22 – “A better covenant”.
Chapter 8:6 – “A better covenant” and “better promises”.
Chapter 9:23 – “Better sacrifices”.
Chapter 10:34 – “A better possession”.
Chapter 11:16 – “A better country”.
Chapter 11:35 – “A better resurrection”.
Chapter 11:40 – “Some better thing”.
Then, alongside of that, you can put:
Chapter 12:24 – “The blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of
Abel”.
In chapter 1:4 and 8:6 there are the words “more excellent”, and in chapter
1:4, chapter 3:3 and chapter 10:25 there is the phrase “by so much\u2026 more”.
So that word is a key to the Letter. Everything here is better than it has ever
been before. And we can come back with that to our own key words: “Holy
brethren, companions of a heavenly calling” – called to something so much
better than has ever been in the history of this world. [end of quote]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How we see our Lord Jesus reflected in these pages of Hebrews!
The author of this letter is unknown. Any standard commentary will go into
the various speculations, and the interested reader can consult them. Let us be
content now with the assurance that this writing is God-breathed, inspired by the
Spirit of God, whoever the human instrument may have been.
The book does not tell us who its recipients were, but we can gather from
the contents that they were probably Jewish Christians who were in danger of
falling back into Judaism because of the difficult conditions they found themselves
in. Even if the recipients were not Jewish Christians, the message of the book
applies to any Christians who are in danger of falling away from Christ for
whatever reasons. The difficult conditions the early Christians faced were at least
threefold. First, many of them probably expected the imminent return of the Lord
Jesus. When his return was delayed, questions began to be raised. This is seen in 1
Thess. 4.13-18, where Paul explains what has happened and will happen with
those who have died in Christ, as well as with those who are alive at his coming.
We see it also in 2 Pt. 3.3-4, where we read of mockers who ridiculed those who
were looking for the Lord’s coming even when it was delayed. The
disappointment at the dragging on of the years without the return of the Lord
must have taken an emotional toll on some, and many must have begun to wonder
if they had been mistaken in following the Lord.
The second difficulty was persecution. Hebrews refers to this in 10.32-34. It
is only natural that the temptation to turn away would come to anyone in
persecution, but it is remarkable how much individual Christians and the church
have been strengthened and have grown in times of persecution. Nonetheless, the
original readers of Hebrews had to decide how to respond to persecution.
This difficulty was increased by the fact that it started within Judaism. As
the years went by, Judaism more and more rejected Christianity. The first
Christians were Jews, and Christianity was almost a sect of Judaism. You will
recall the stories in Acts about the Christians meeting in the temple and the
apostles teaching and preaching there. As time went by, though, the rift between
Judaism and Christianity became increasingly evident. The Jews as a whole
rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and as they perceived the growing Christian
movement as a threat to their institutions, they began to persecute Christians. The
first persecution is recorded in Acts 8.1 and the following verses, coming after the
murder of Stephen. Finally, Christianity became a separate faith. Those Jewish
Christians who were faithful to the traditions of their fathers and found comfort
and encouragement in the observances of Judaism were faced with the decision of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
having to give those up for the sake of Christ, with the possibility or experience of
persecution adding to the weight of the decision.
T. Austin-Sparks, in his book Companions of Christ and the Heavenly Calling
deals with this choice that Jewish Christians had to face. He writes,
We are occupied at this time with that great thing that God is doing in this
dispensation. He is constituting a new, heavenly Israel and preparing it
for the day when its King comes and it will reign with Him forever. The
members of this spiritual Israel are called, “the companions of a heavenly
calling” – the companions of Christ.
The point at which we have arrived just now, is that in the constituting of
the spiritual Israel, God is following the same line as He took with the
earthly Israel, but with the one great difference: that with the earthly He
followed temporal lines; with the heavenly He is following spiritual lines,
but they are both one in principle. We have seen something of this, but we
are going to see a little more of it today.
I think it must be perfectly true that this is what God is doing. The letter to
the Hebrews is the great document of the transition from one Israel to
another, and there are many evidences in that letter of this truth. If
anybody has any doubt at all, there is one fragment which I think should
settle all such questions. You look at chapter 12 of the letter to the
Hebrews, and read the section from verse 18:
“For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned
with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound
of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard
entreated that no more word should be spoken unto them: for they could
not endure that which was enjoined: if even a beast touch the mountain, it
shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I
exceedingly fear and quake.”
(The print version of this book is one volume of two in a book entitled The On-High
Calling. It differs from the one on the Austin-Sparks web site. I have used the web
site version in the present work, chapter 6, first four paragraphs.)
And he adds in Filled Unto All the Fulness of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God’s end is not just salvation – though one uses the word in that
connection, one does not minimise salvation, for it has been purchased at
unspeakable cost. Salvation is only the beginning of the way to God’s end.
Salvation is a growing, expanding thing, the end of which is the fulness of
Christ. God’s heart is set upon that. If we are going on unto that, our hearts
must be wholly set upon that, upon the Lord Himself. (chapter 1, last
paragraph)
There must have been much fear and quaking among those who faced such
a choice.
Marcus Dods, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Expositors Greek Testament, pgs.
234-236, expresses well what these early Christians faced and in so doing points
out a third difficulty:
And as we read the Epistle it becomes apparent that the danger which aroused the
writer to interpose was not such definite and grave heresy as evoked the Epistle
to the Galatians or that to the Colossians, nor such entangling heathen vices and
difficult questions of casuistry as imperiled the Corinthian church, but rather a
gradual, almost unconscious admission of doubt which dulled hope and slackened
energy. They had professed Christianity for some time (5.12); and the sincerity of
their profession had been proved by the manner in which they had borne severe
persecution (10. 33, 34); they had taken joyfully the spoiling of their possessions;
they had endured a great conflict of sufferings. But they found the long-sustained
conflict with sin (12.4) and the day-by-day contempt and derision they
experienced as Christians (13.13), more wearing to the spirit than sharper
persecution. Consequently their knees had become feeble to pursue the path of
righteous endurance and activity, their hands hung limply by their sides as if they
were defeated men (12.12). They had ceased to make progress and were in danger
of falling away (6.1-4, 3.12) and were allowing an evil heart of unbelief to grow in
them (3.12). No doubt this listless, semi-believing condition laid them open to the
incursion of “diverse and strange teachings” (13.9) and in itself was full of peril. To
restore in them the freshness of faith the writer at every part of the Epistle exhorts
them to steadfastness and perseverance.
What a struggle it must have been for some. Would they turn away from
Christ to hold on to Judaism? The epistle to the Hebrews was written to show the
superiority of Christianity to Judaism, and more importantly, the superiority of
the Lord Jesus to religion (for Christianity itself, though not a religion, but a
relationship, can be and has been made into a religion by men), and to exhort those
wrestling with this decision to be faithful to the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this same line of thought about the possibility of turning back from Jesus to
Judaism there is one other factor that may or may not play a part. I do not like to
do a lot of speculation and I try to stick with what the Scriptures say, but I tend to
believe that this factor is important, so I will deal with it. Heb. 12.25-29 speaks of
a great shaking that will occur. I believe this refers to the end of this age, but I think
it could also refer to the time that Hebrews was written. We do not know that date,
but it seems likely from the context that the destruction of Jerusalem and the
temple in A.D. 70 was not far off. Surely if it had already occurred it would have
been dealt with in Hebrews. It seems likely to me that the Lord knew that this great
shaking of Israel was about to occur when he inspired its author to write this letter,
so he was sending a word to his people who might be on shaky ground to stand
firm with the Lord Jesus. It is as though he was saying, \u201cThere is coming a great
shaking of Judaism very soon. If you turn back to Judaism you will be turning back
to nothing. Go on to the end with the Lord. Judaism as you know it will end. The
Lord Jesus will be the same yesterday, today, and into the ages.\u201d Whether or not
my thoughts here are accurate, it is certain that Judaism was shaken to is core, and
in A.D. 135, after another Jewish rebellion against Rome, the Romans exiled all
Jews from the Holy Land and they were scattered to the world.
Heb. 13.22 tells us that this book is an exhortation. It is an exhortation to go
on to the end. One of the primary themes of this exhortation is the superiority of
Christ, and this superiority is the basis of enduring to the end. He is God’s answer
to every problem, and there is no answer anywhere else. There may be temporary
comfort in the exercise of religious rites, but that will not see one through to the
goal God has in mind for us.
In saying that Hebrews exhorts its readers to go on to the end, we do not
mean that it refers only to hanging on the best they can till the clock runs out.
Hebrews is interested in far more than just making it to the end of one’s time on
earth. The writer wants his readers to understand that being a Christian is not just
being saved, but includes a walk with the Lord Jesus that should become more
and more intimate with him as long as one lives and in which one should become
more and more mature. We see this especially in 5.11-6.2 where the writer plainly
says not to keep going over and over the elementary matters, but to be carried on
to maturity. Maturity is what the Lord is after with us, and it is the exhortation of
Hebrews that we keep pursuing all that the Lord has for us.
Let us turn for a moment to this matter of God\u2019s creating of a heavenly and
spiritual Israel to replace the old, earthly Israel that rejected its Messiah, and thus
was rejected by God, at least for the present age in which we live. Rom. 2.28-29
says, \u201cFor he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision the one
outward in flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7<\/p>\n\n\n\n
heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.\u201d Gal. 6.16
mentions \u201cthe Israel of God,\u201d which is the church. Everything about Judaism was
earthly. The Holy Land was everything. They had a city, Jerusalem, and especially
the temple, that were the center of everything. They had certain clothing the priests
had to wear. They had ceremonies that had to be carried out to the letter. They had
sacrifices that had to be offered. It was all of earth.
Hebrews emphasizes this heavenly and spiritual people. In 3.1 it says that
we are partakers, or companions, as Austin-Sparks has it, of a heavenly calling.
We read in 6.4 of the heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit. We learn in 8.5 that the earthly
tabernacle is not the true one, but is a copy of the heavenly one. In 9.23-24, we see
that the furniture and vessels of ministry in the earthly tabernacle are copies of the
true ones in Heaven, and therefore must be cleansed with better sacrifices. If you
wonder why anything in Heaven would need to be cleansed, read Job 4.18: \u201cLook:
he puts no trust in his servants, and his angels he charges with folly,\u201d and 15.15:
\u201cLook, he puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his
sight.\u201d Heb. 11.16 tells us that the Old Testament saints desired a better country, a
heavenly one. In agreement, Paul writes in 2 Tim. 4.18 that God would bring him
safely into his heavenly kingdom. And we read in Heb. 12.22 of the heavenly
Jerusalem. And Jn. 18.36 says that the Lord Jesus said, \u201cMy kingdom is not of this
world.\u201d What we have is heavenly in origin and spiritual in nature and so cannot
be touched by the world or the devil. It is inward, knowing the Lord in the heart,
not outward and material, with such things as ceremonies and religious clothing
and all that. But the inward kingdom will be lived out in the world, and the
heavenly and spiritual kingdom will rule the material (Dan. 4.26).
There is a heavenly and spiritual goal, not of this earth, as the old Israel held
to, that the Lord has in mind for us if we do so.
What is that goal? There is a fragment of a verse in Hebrews that tells us
what this goal is. Heb. 2.5 reads, “For not to angels did he subject the inhabited
earth to come, concerning which we speak.” “Concerning which we speak.” And
what is it the writer says we are speaking of? The inhabited earth to come. And
what is the inhabited earth to come? It is the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus
that will begin at his return to earth. It is the kingdom of God, the sovereignty
of God, always present, but invisible in this world and age, which will become
visible and be manifested at that time. Hebrews is about the coming millennial
kingdom and is telling us how to be prepared to find our place in that kingdom.
Hebrews exhorts its readers to endure to the end for the sake of gaining their
places in the millennial kingdom, reigning with Christ as his bride. Yes, he
wants us to reign with him, but to reign we must be trained for it, and that is
what the Lord is trying to do in our lives through the difficulties we face and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8<\/p>\n\n\n\n
through his dealings with our flesh to put it to death and to conform us to the 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n the first Parakletos.) He said that the Holy Spirit would be another Parakletos (Jn. 10<\/p>\n\n\n\n God sent forth His own Son and gave unto us the substance of those things 11<\/p>\n\n\n\n is to teach how sinners, redeemed from both the penalty and the bondage of sin, 12<\/p>\n\n\n\n My English translation of this verse is a bit unwieldy, but I am determined 13<\/p>\n\n\n\n harvest. These were beaten and some killed. Last of all the owner sent his son, his 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n This speaking of God is one of the most fundamental and vital elements of 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is it that God has said in this Son? We could multiply examples of 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, God’s purpose is Christ. God has a Son. His name is Jesus. He 17<\/p>\n\n\n\n according to the purpose of the one who works all things according to the counsel 18<\/p>\n\n\n\n his nature.” This simply says that if we want to know what God is like, we need 19<\/p>\n\n\n\n God the Father was stamped on the human Man. The Lord Jesus in himself is not 20<\/p>\n\n\n\n he who refuses that word in any portion of his life lapses into disorder, confusion, 21<\/p>\n\n\n\n having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time sat down at the right hand 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n believe that when the day arrives that every knee bows and every tongue confesses 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n promised that there would be a Davidic king forever. We believe that this King is 24<\/p>\n\n\n\n of shameful death (Phil. 2.8). Therefore God has highly exalted him to the position 25<\/p>\n\n\n\n same psalm in its Greek version says, “Worship him, all you angels.” A few times 26<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ps. 104.4 is the verse quoted by Hebrews in this statement. This psalm 9You loved righteousness and hated 27<\/p>\n\n\n\n righteousness. One is the court room matter of being in a right relationship with 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this same context of comparing the Lord Jesus with the angels, Hebrews 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n ministering spirits being sent for service for those being about to inherit The Subjection of All Things to Christ 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have seen that one of the major points of Hebrews is that God speaks. 31<\/p>\n\n\n\n rewarded. (I am not teaching salvation by works. Receiving salvation by faith 32<\/p>\n\n\n\n appeared to him, and then the Lord spoke to him. We could multiply examples. 33<\/p>\n\n\n\n Salvation?” Saphir points out that the verse does not say, \u201crejected or treated with 34<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 2.8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of you. 35<\/p>\n\n\n\n the story of Caleb asking Joshua for the land he had trodden on forty years earlier 36<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy. 37<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I saw a new sky and a new earth, for the first sky and the first earth 38<\/p>\n\n\n\n she might clothe herself in fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is 39<\/p>\n\n\n\n millennial kingdom of God on earth by not having woven his wedding garment. necessity of going on with the Lord Jesus to the end. In addition to this, T. Austin- of these matters. I recommend it very highly. Brother Austin-Sparks had an works of your hands\u201d that occur in Ps. 8.6 do not occur in the Greek version of the 41<\/p>\n\n\n\n crops, and restoring the earth in places, among other things, but the net effect is 42<\/p>\n\n\n\n reigns. Never mind appearances, Hebrews says. It is by faith that we believe that 43<\/p>\n\n\n\n strengthen him. (Lk. 22.43) And of course he yielded to the will of the Father and Let us consider what it is that the Son of man, humbling Himself for 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n almost in unconsciousness, or with calmness and intrepidity, with lion-like 45<\/p>\n\n\n\n he was able, during the days of his flesh, to exercise dominion over God’s creation. 46<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grain offering provides the background for the verse now under 47<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spirit at the River Jordan. He was able to be the perfect fulfillment of the grain 48<\/p>\n\n\n\n on its last page but one it is said by him that sitteth on the throne, and said 49<\/p>\n\n\n\n casting of lots for his clothing done by the soldiers. Then the psalm goes on to 50<\/p>\n\n\n\n he does under God’s permission. The public disgrace of Satan was done in the 51<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only other place in the New Testament that this word is used is Lk. 52<\/p>\n\n\n\n met and were united in him, who was the sin offering by and through 53<\/p>\n\n\n\n the physical mercy seat of Exodus is the same as that used for the Lord Jesus in The Superiority of Christ to Moses and the Sabbath 54<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heb. 3.1-6 things. He could not grasp that he needed a spiritual birth. How could a man re- the Sabbath and other institutions were made for man and not man for the 55<\/p>\n\n\n\n spiritual, with none of the earthly trappings, they had difficulty turning loose of 56<\/p>\n\n\n\n afar. What we are about has nothing to do with buildings and altars and special 57<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4For every house is prepared by someone, but the one having prepared all things 58<\/p>\n\n\n\n have had a place in world history along with those considered the greatest. He 59<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet Hebrews tells us that Moses was faithful in God’s house as a servant. 60<\/p>\n\n\n\n whose house we are, IF we should hold fast the assurance and the boasting of 61<\/p>\n\n\n\n to tabernacle in his people. Along this line I want to say that it is improper to call 62<\/p>\n\n\n\n necessary that we take a certain course of action. Heb. 3.7-4.13 continues outlining 63<\/p>\n\n\n\n wilderness, where your fathers tempted me by testing me and saw my works for 64<\/p>\n\n\n\n V. 12 then says that the readers of Hebrews should \u201cbeware \u2026 so that there 65<\/p>\n\n\n\n With v. 14 comes the next IF. In warning his readers not to fall away from 66<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vs. 18-19 show that two factors enter into the cause of the failure pictured 67<\/p>\n\n\n\n tough, they began to complain against God. They said they believed God, but deep 68<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ is not enough to guarantee the attainment (to use Paul’s word) of all that<\/p>\n\n\n\n which is included in our having been “apprehended by Christ Jesus.” (T. Austin- So Hebrews exhorts, “LET US fear.” Falling short of entering God’s rest is 69<\/p>\n\n\n\n harden your hearts.\u201d 8For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have 70<\/p>\n\n\n\n the great principles of the Bible. It is that when a Christian (or an ancient Israelite) Up to this point the Greek word for rest is katapausis, but now v. 9 72<\/p>\n\n\n\n because they did not go on with the Lord till the end, did not attain to the fullness 73<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we come to one of the key passages in Hebrews. Recall that we said 74<\/p>\n\n\n\n just having his emotions stirred by beautiful music? If this is only emotion, soul- the Lord. 75<\/p>\n\n\n\n fully with the Lord Jesus is this matter of living out of our spirit, not out of our 76<\/p>\n\n\n\n is called to-day,\u201d i.e., so long as the offer of the heavenly calling is open and Additional Note on Heb. 3.7 77<\/p>\n\n\n\n you to learn to hear from him daily, to walk with him, to fellowship with him. We Additional Note on Heb. 3.10 78<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and 79<\/p>\n\n\n\n is the beginning of real knowledge and wisdom, Proverbs tells, and the one who 80<\/p>\n\n\n\n God. The person who has had his flesh dealt with by God knows something of the 81<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the picture we have in Heb. 4.14. Hebrews tells us later on that the the fall of man and the usurpation of authority over the earth by Satan, this air- Christians believe that God is sovereign and whatever authority Satan has he has 82<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus is superior to that of Levi because he 83<\/p>\n\n\n\n efforts to get him to turn from the will of God, but he said to his Father, “Not my 84<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exhortation 85<\/p>\n\n\n\n The matter of the word “begotten” being used of the Lord Jesus has caused 86<\/p>\n\n\n\n became for all those obeying him the source of eternal salvation, 10having been deceased person, euphony, pleasant sound, euphoria, good feeling, Eugene, well- word “gospel” is the translation of euaggelion, a good message, that is, good news. 87<\/p>\n\n\n\n through what we go through, and it was as a man that he suffered and learned LET US Be Carried on to Maturity In Heb. 5.11-6.3 the writer, having just dealt with the maturing of the Lord 88<\/p>\n\n\n\n have. Though they should be teachers, they need to be taught again. Thus we see 89<\/p>\n\n\n\n First mentioned is repentance from dead works. Without repentance one is 90<\/p>\n\n\n\n on our hope of rising from the dead is to miss everything between now and then. 91<\/p>\n\n\n\n is usually joyfully wrapped up in the wonder of what he has received. Something 92<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the reasons it is important to go on to maturity is that to remain 93<\/p>\n\n\n\n him die in the wilderness. He does not go back to Egypt, that is, lose salvation, but 94<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having given his readers this very strong scolding for being immature and In the face of such an impossibility as Sarah conceiving, the Lord, whose 96<\/p>\n\n\n\n is strong. The encouragement is stronger, stronger because it is the promise of God, 97<\/p>\n\n\n\n according to purpose. For whom he foreknew he predestined for conformity to the 98<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a great past, the foundational truths; a wonderful, High Priest According to the Order of Melchizedek 99<\/p>\n\n\n\n mother and genealogy and without beginning or death, but was like Christ, 100<\/p>\n\n\n\n Levi, and the real significance of Melchizedek comes out. In vs. 11-25 the theme is 101<\/p>\n\n\n\n take away sins because they were sinful themselves. They could only obey the 102<\/p>\n\n\n\n whether he had a heart for God or not. Someone born of another tribe who wanted 103<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the ultimate basis of priesthood that is effective before God. What a loving 104<\/p>\n\n\n\n involved in the sacrifice. Not only do we have a great, loving Savior, but we also Additional Note on the Priesthood According to the Order of Melchizedek 105<\/p>\n\n\n\n a holy nation.\u201d This word from God defines the kind of kingdom he wants to rule 106<\/p>\n\n\n\n till a later time. If any Levitical priest had brought bread and wine to the altar, he 107<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore remember that once you Gentiles in the flesh, those called 108<\/p>\n\n\n\n We see the efficacy of the work of Christ as Priest and Victim at the cross: that one 109<\/p>\n\n\n\n was absolutely creative and revolutionary. We have seen this train of thought The Superiority of the New Covenant to the Old and of the Tabernacle in Heaven 110<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8For finding fault with them he says, “‘Look, days are coming,’ says the Lord, 111<\/p>\n\n\n\n secret, and circumcision is of the heart, by Spirit, not by letter, whose praise is not 112<\/p>\n\n\n\n to keep it. V. 10 tells us that under the new covenant, God puts his laws into our 113<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews continues the argument that the old is passing away and the new 114<\/p>\n\n\n\n offering and sacrifice to God of a smell of fragrance” (see also 2 Cor. 2.15). God was 115<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus that give access to God, including the shedding of his blood. The Greek says 10only in foods and drinks 116<\/p>\n\n\n\n the Lord Jesus, and no other person could be perfect, and thus the veil separated 117<\/p>\n\n\n\n having been defiled sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14how much more 118<\/p>\n\n\n\n All that the Tabernacle of the old covenant pictured but could not do, Christ 17for a will is confirmed on deaths, since it never has effect while<\/p>\n\n\n\n the one making it is living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 18Therefore not even the first has been inaugurated 119<\/p>\n\n\n\n said, “Look, the blood of the covenant which I AM has made with you concerning 26since then it would be necessary for 120<\/p>\n\n\n\n not clean in His sight\u2019\u201d (Job 4.18, 15.15). (153-154) The second question is, Why 121<\/p>\n\n\n\n him through faith in Christ and go on with him toward maturity (Heb. 6.1), he will The Superiority of Christ’s Sacrifice 122<\/p>\n\n\n\n sin problem effectively. A man could pay the price of his own sins, but only by 123<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testament come from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text and some have 124<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vs. 8-9 reiterate the thoughts about God not wanting animal sacrifices, but 125<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is, we are declared not guilty by God the Judge because our sins have been 126<\/p>\n\n\n\n the whole burnt offering God originally had in mind, a people fully given to him 13for the rest 127<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from the main point of this chapter of Hebrews, the superiority of the 128<\/p>\n\n\n\n 19Having therefore, brothers, assurance for the entrance of the Holy of Holies by 21and a great Priest over the house of God, 129<\/p>\n\n\n\n meaning of prosphatos is \u201cnewly-slain,\u201d actually, \u201cnewly-slaughtered,\u201d being a \u201cslain\u201d in the word \u201cnewly-slain\u201d in Hebrews 10.20. What a picture! The newly- “a newly-slain and living way through the veil, that is, his flesh.” 130<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus we are exhorted, “LET US come with a true heart in full assurance of 131<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is the point. People who formerly used their bodies for the grossest sins are 132<\/p>\n\n\n\n life. We must exhort one another. And the Greek word for exhort can also mean 133<\/p>\n\n\n\n to go on with the Lord. This is one of the passages used by those who believe it is 134<\/p>\n\n\n\n loss involved in turning away from him. His return is near. Endure to the end! “It 33this – being exposed to public shame by 135<\/p>\n\n\n\n behind if the end of the age does not come first. The rewards of the kingdom go 136<\/p>\n\n\n\n and exercises faith in him he will wait faithfully for the Lord, even to the end of mean God is well-pleased. Shrinking back in disobedience means God is not well- including you and me 137<\/p>\n\n\n\n salvation of a lost person, but in the Bible it means the lifelong process by which 138<\/p>\n\n\n\n dependent totally on his own soul resources. He has guidance from God. In 139<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith: Enduring Under Trial 140<\/p>\n\n\n\n to an understanding of faith, and Heb. 11 repeats it. V. 3 says that what is seen is 141<\/p>\n\n\n\n saw what I had long believed in without seeing. The belief made a difference in 142<\/p>\n\n\n\n present moment will not contradict the Bible. The written word is our safety factor. 143<\/p>\n\n\n\n us what the fire is that proves our faith, various kinds of trials. These trials may be 144<\/p>\n\n\n\n was dead toward God in sin. In 1 Cor. 1.18 Paul writes of “us who are being saved.” 145<\/p>\n\n\n\n faith is the way there. There is the glory of the kingdom, and then Heaven is the 146<\/p>\n\n\n\n and events God communicated to man that the shedding of blood was the 147<\/p>\n\n\n\n own. That has been the case ever since. Those who want to claim God for The next example of faith that Hebrews gives is Enoch. He was taken up 149<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victory for the Christian comes by faith, as we see in 1 Jn. 5.4: “This is the 150<\/p>\n\n\n\n die or are alive at his return, we know that we will always be with the Lord. 151<\/p>\n\n\n\n and preached a coming flood. Never mind, he had heard from God. He had 152<\/p>\n\n\n\n endure their trials. Noah endured 120 years. Surely they could endure whatever 153<\/p>\n\n\n\n that we probably assume that when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to an 154<\/p>\n\n\n\n that God has promised to restore to its created perfection for his people, yet we 155<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10For he was waiting for the city having foundations, whose designer and 156<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah became a woman of real vision. (E.W. Bullinger, Great Cloud of Witnesses in 157<\/p>\n\n\n\n will yet keep his word and these Old Testament faithful will receive far more than 158<\/p>\n\n\n\n a great nation and produce the Messiah. And now he tells Abraham to offer Isaac 159<\/p>\n\n\n\n bestow it, Rebekah and Jacob tricked him into giving the blessing to Jacob. When 160<\/p>\n\n\n\n so he sold it to Jacob for a meal. While a deal is a deal, Jacob did take advantage of 161<\/p>\n\n\n\n with God. The Lord Jesus said that the flesh profits nothing, but the Spirit makes 162<\/p>\n\n\n\n done. And he worshipped God, leaning on his staff. What a blessed end to a life of 163<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gen. 48.21 reports to us that at the end of his life, Jacob said to Joseph his son, 164<\/p>\n\n\n\n through all his trials. He was a real man of faith and was able to be used by God 165<\/p>\n\n\n\n believed what they heard and were willing to act on it. It takes both to make faith. “town.” Thus it indicates someone who was a city-dweller as opposed to a country- has more refined manners than a country-dweller (a belief not necessarily true), 166<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would say that Moses became a man who was comfortable with spiritual things. 167<\/p>\n\n\n\n own lives preserving the life of the greatest man in Jewish history, the one whom 168<\/p>\n\n\n\n he would have known the praise of men, but he refused to be called the son of 169<\/p>\n\n\n\n God was enough for him. He acted on what he heard from God and it proved true. terminology, for flesh is flesh and all of it is bad, none of it useful to God, but the 11 as examples of faith. We are accustomed to thinking of these people as stiff- wandering in the wilderness and ultimately to the judgment of the nation’s 171<\/p>\n\n\n\n through on dry land. The people believed and stepped into the sea. They acted on 172<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a further truth for us in the two examples selected by Hebrews to 173<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last person to be listed separately in Heb. 11 as an example of faith is a 174<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is still more. Judgment was about to fall on Jericho, but before it 175<\/p>\n\n\n\n wondering what God would have been able to do with him if he had been a 176<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shunammite woman received their sons from the dead at the hands of Elijah and about in sheepskins, in goat skins, doing without, being afflicted, being ill- mountains and caves and holes in the ground. 177<\/p>\n\n\n\n themselves, to be sure, but in what he did in them through their trust and 178<\/p>\n\n\n\n we believe he will and it is our great hope as Christians that he will come in our looking to the founder and perfecter of 179<\/p>\n\n\n\n cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne The whole burden of the writer of this letter has been concerned with 180<\/p>\n\n\n\n looking as can only be described as that of staring; not a casual glance, but 181<\/p>\n\n\n\n or in time, that God gets squeezed out. The good is sometimes the enemy of the 182<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the real joy set before the Lord Jesus was not the exaltation, but the approval 183<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heb. 12.3 sums up the thought, and is perhaps one of the keys to the entire for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every 184<\/p>\n\n\n\n instruction and correction, and correction, of course, implies punishment, at least 185<\/p>\n\n\n\n of righteousness and king of peace and receiver of tithes from Abraham. Heb. 7.7 186<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ. When he returns and establishes his kingdom, we who have been matured 187<\/p>\n\n\n\n 14Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, 188<\/p>\n\n\n\n the Lord, accept it as his discipline, and rely on his sufficient grace. If we do, it will 189<\/p>\n\n\n\n word be added to them, 20for they could not bear the thing being commanded, 190<\/p>\n\n\n\n returns and they recognize him as their Messiah, but they also apply spiritually to 191<\/p>\n\n\n\n sight, for we are still on the earth and in the flesh where the spiritual war is going 192<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 193<\/p>\n\n\n\n way of salvation. But the blood of the Lord Jesus speaks better. Abel\u2019s blood was 194<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zion hath he set his King, even the Son. Mount Sinai represents the law, 8Therefore, receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, But as our privilege, so our responsibility is much greater under the Gospel- from heaven to earth and spoke on mount Sinai; Jesus ascended from earth the present dispensation and of gospel-speaking is heavenly. The heaven- 195<\/p>\n\n\n\n glad tidings from His throne of glory. The blood of Abel cried from earth to 196<\/p>\n\n\n\n of God through its writer not to miss it by turning away in the shaking, but to Practical Expressions of Faith in Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n 197<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heb. 13.1-25 198<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another and said that 199<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christians view our possessions not as ours, but as the Lord’s, and that we see 200<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord. We need to heed the instruction of Heb. 13.3 and be mindful of and helpful 201<\/p>\n\n\n\n what his eternal plan is for his Son and his bride. It is to be a testimony of the 202<\/p>\n\n\n\n ask the many who have made and lost fortunes. Or notice the wealthy who have 203<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 204<\/p>\n\n\n\n us to him. They were a shadow of Christ. Now that we have Christ we do not need 205<\/p>\n\n\n\n find their place, if they have one. He is what we are about, not any doctrine or 206<\/p>\n\n\n\n though not a visible one, and it is a better altar than the one Judaism had. Thus the 207<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus Hebrews says to Jewish Christians not to stay in the camp that cast 208<\/p>\n\n\n\n He left Heaven to come into a world of sin to do us good. Acts 10.38 says that 209<\/p>\n\n\n\n feelings because it would do away with the guilt. Of course, there are Christians 210<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews concludes with a prayer of its author for his recipients, and this 211<\/p>\n\n\n\n victory. It is still true. Whatever our needs may be today, there is nothing beyond \u2026 the inhabited earth to come, concerning which we speak\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 a kingdom that cannot be shaken\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bibiiography God Hath Spoken. There is no one else like T. Austin-Sparks. Read him! Austin-Sparks books- http:\/\/www.austin-sparks.net\/articles\/bkcatalog.html. You will have to fill in the Lang, G.H., The Epistle to the Hebrews. http:\/\/www.kingsleypress.com\/featured- Old Testament quotations are the author\u2019s updates of the American Standard A word of explanation: The Old Testament name of God given in Ex. 3.14 isYHWH in English letters. Hebrew has no written vowels. The Jews did not speakthe name of God out of reverence and perhaps fear of blasphemy by notpronouncing it correctly. When that divine name appears in the Old Testament,the Jews would substitute…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-669","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":877,"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/669\/revisions\/877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomadcox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
image of Christ (Rom. 8.28-29) and to form Christ in us (Gal. 4.19). That is what
he was trying to do with his first readers in their trials, and it is what he is trying
to do with you and me in ours. Yield to him in them. Let him complete his work.
It is worth any cost.
The writer uses two primary approaches to exhort to enduring. One is his
showing of the superiority of the Lord Jesus, especially to Judaism, but to other
matters as well, such as angels. By showing his superiority, the writer forms a
foundation for calling on his readers to remain true to Christ, even if it means
persecution, even if it means leaving Judaism behind, even if it means martyrdom.
The second approach is the strong use of warnings of what may take place
if\u2026. For example, Heb. 3.6 says that Christ is over God’s house, “whose house we
are, if we hold fast the assurance and the boasting of the hope.” It is possible to
cease being a house where God is pleased to dwell. This does not mean that one
may lose his salvation, but that a Christian may fall short of what God desires.
There are rewards and losses in the kingdom, “concerning which we speak.” The
writer wants his readers to gain all that God has for them, and thus exhorts them
to go on to the end with the Lord Jesus. This little word “if” is of importance in
Hebrews and we will capitalize it where it has this force.
Another aspect of the warnings is the use of the phrase “Let us.” At several
points Hebrews, having dealt with what God has for his people and the fact that
it may be missed, exhorts, “Let us.” We will also put these words in all capitals to
call attention to them.
Along with the warnings that occur frequently in Hebrews we have their
opposite, words of comfort to those who are faithful to Christ. We can use the same
verse as that cited in the previous paragraph as an example. If we hold fast our
assurance and boasting in Christ, we are the house of God, a house in which God
is pleased to dwell, to feel at home.
In referring to both warning and comfort, we might take note of a particular
Greek word. Probably most English readers are familiar with the Holy Spirit being
called “the Paraclete.” This word “paraclete” is simply the putting of the Greek
word parakletos into English letters. The reason the Holy Spirit is
called the Paraclete is that the word used for him in Scripture as the Comforter or
Counselor or Helper is this word parakletos. The literal meaning of this word in its
verb form is “to come alongside,” that is, as a helper of some sort. The word has
many meanings: helper, comforter, counselor, encourager, advocate, exhorter. In
Hebrews he is the Exhorter in the sense that the book is an exhortation. But he is
also the Comforter when comfort is needed. He is the Counselor when counsel is
needed. He is the Encourager when encouragement is needed. He is he Advocate
when an advocate is needed. (The Lord Jesus is our Advocate in 1 Jn. 2.1 where the Greek word we translate as \u201cadvocate\u201d is parakletos<\/em>. He was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
14.16). He is the Helper in whatever way help is needed. No wonder he is called
the blessed Holy Spirit! So the one who warns and exhorts is also the one who
comforts and encourages.
Let us also say that the ultimate way in which Hebrews essays to have its
readers endure to the end is by keeping Christ at the center. With all the warnings
and exhortations, it continually points to Christ. Perhaps the clearest expression of
this fact is found in Heb. 12.1-2:
Therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
laying aside every weight and the entangling sin, let us run with endurance
the race set before us, looking away to the founder and perfecter of faith,
Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (emphasis
mine)
The Lord Jesus is the central and ultimate reason for our endurance. The
fundamental truth of Christianity is that it is Christ, and nothing else. We are
not called to practice a religion, but to have a relationship with a Person. That
Person is what the writer of Hebrews continually calls his readers back to.
Adolph Saphir, a Hungarian Jewish Christian (he and his family were
converted in 1843) who lived from 1831 to 1891 and was a missionary in Ireland
and a pastor in Glasgow and London, wrote a lengthy work on Hebrews. He wrote
a paragraph that I think is beautiful and is worthy of reproduction. I do not agree
entirely with his opening statement, believing myself that the great object is to
exhort the readers to go on with Christ to maturity and to the end, and thus to an
inheritance in the kingdom, but I certainly do with the rest of what he wrote.
The great object of the epistle is to describe the contrast between the
old and the new covenant. But this contrast is based upon their unity. It is
impossible for us rightly to understand the contrast unless we know first
the resemblance. The new covenant is contrasted with the old covenant, not
in the way in which the light of the knowledge of God is contrasted with
the darkness and ignorance of heathenism, for the old covenant also is of
God, and is therefore possessed of divine glory. Beautiful is the night in
which the moon and the stars of prophecy and types are shining; but when
the sun rises, we forget the hours of watchful expectancy, and in the calm
and joyous light of day there is revealed to us the reality and substance of
the eternal and heavenly sanctuary. Great is the glory of the old covenant;
yet greater is the glory of the new dispensation, when in the fullness of time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of which in the old times He had shown types and prophecy. (Adolph
Saphir, The Epistle to the Hebrews, vol. I, p. 21)
In The Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament, a series of lectures delivered
at Oxford University in England in 1864, Thomas D. Bernard also dealt with this
matter of the Old and New Covenants and their relationship, and at the same time
emphasized the exhortation of Hebrews to go on with Christ to maturity and to
the end. Allow me to quote him at length:
Still it was of high importance to the clearness and fixedness of the doctrine,
that this connection between the two covenants should be deliberately
shown to consist, not in rhetorical illustration, but in a divinely intended
system of analogies. This is the permanent office of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, which, if not St Paul\u2019s, is confessedly Pauline\u2026. In its origin it
evidently belongs to the last hour of transition and decision, when a large
number of men who were at once Jews and Christians stood perplexed,
agitated, and almost distracted. They seemed to feel the ground parting
beneath their feet and hardly knew whether to throw themselves back on
that which was receding, or forward on that to which they were called to
cling. In an intense sympathy with this perplexity, and even anguish,
prevailing in the Hebrew-Christian mind, and in an intense anxiety as to its
issue, the Epistle was written \u2013 a living voice of power in a time of change
and fear, yet a comprehensive exposition of the advancing course of
revelation and of the relation between its two great stages. But more
particularly is it to be noticed here, that this Epistle throws a stronger light
than other writings had done upon the progress of doctrine during the
Christian period itself. For, first, it expressly recognizes the fact that \u201cthe
word of the beginning of Christ\u201d (Heb. 6.1) had been enlarged by
intervening teaching into a \u201cperfection,\u201d which many of those who are here
addressed had sinfully and shamefully failed to receive. The teachers sent
from God having wrought out for them full expositions of truth, to which
their old prepossessions had closed their hearts. And, secondly, it exhibits
the further fact, that this perfecting of the truth, by the full and definite
interpretation of the principles of the Gospel, had been accomplished by the
means of the true reading of the Old Testament, in the light of the
knowledge of Christ. (pgs. 198-200)
Sir Robert Anderson, in his book Types in Hebrews (originally The Hebrews
Epistle in the Light of the Types), writes about the purpose of Hebrews, \u201cIts purpose<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and brought into covenant relationship with God, can be kept on their wilderness
way as \u2018holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling.\u2019\u201d (p. 21) I agree that this is
a part of the epistle, but the point of Heb. 3-4 is that the Israelites in the wilderness
had been rejected by God (not from redemption from Egypt, but from entering the
Promised Land), and left to die in the wilderness, a picture of the Christian never
coming into the overcoming life that gains the reward of the inheritance in the
coming kingdom. The purpose of Hebrews is to exhort its readers, including us,
not to be like them, but to be carried on to maturity, to victorious living, and to the
reward in the kingdom. The Lord Jesus himself said, \u201cHold fast what you have, so
that no one take your crown.\u201d (Rev. 3.11)
To emphasize what we have been saying about going on with the Lord to
the end, allow me to point out that it would be only a short time after the writing
of this letter that Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed by the Romans. All
that his readers were in danger of turning back to they would lose almost
immediately if they did so. The Lord knew this was about to take place and
mercifully was warning and exhorting his people to stay faithful to him. As
Hebrews chapter 12 puts it, there would be a great shaking at the end of this age
when everything that could be shaken would be destroyed and only that which is
of Christ will remain. This final shaking is prefigured by many shakings that occur
in the life of each of us. Those shakings are sent by God to shake out of us or cause
to crumble all that is not of him so that we will be prepared for the final shaking,
if we are alive on earth at that point, and a share in the coming millennial kingdom.
If we turn away from the Lord because of our shakings, we will lose, not our
salvation, but our inheritance in his kingdom (1 Cor. 3.12-15, where the figure of a
burning fire is the equivalent of the shaking of Heb.12; see Heb. 12.29: \u201cour God is
a consuming fire.\u201d). If we turn to something, anything, besides Christ, there will
come a day when, just as the Jews lost their city and temple and system of worship,
whatever we turn to will be irreversibly shaken and destroyed. Heed the warnings
and exhortations of this epistle.
Let us turn now to the epistle itself and examine it paragraph by paragraph.
May the Lord see fit to speak to our hearts the living words we need to hear as we
study the printed page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Superiority of Christ
Heb. 1.1-14
1.In many portions and in many ways of old having spoken to the fathers in the
prophets, God 2at the last of these days spoke to us in Son\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to get it as near the Greek word order as possible because that word order has a
purpose. In most translations of Hebrews the first word is “God.” I suppose this is
done out of reverence for God, and that is certainly fitting, and it also makes for
better English, but the Greek begins with, “In many portions and in many ways\u2026.”
Why? Because Hebrews sets forth the superiority of Christ in every way and the
first superiority of Christ pointed out by Hebrews is that he is the superior
speaking of God. The word order emphasizes this, showing that God’s speaking
in Christ is superior even to his own original speaking.
When God spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament, he spoke only
in portions, a little at a time, probably because of the inability of the prophets to
grasp the whole story at once, and also because God was speaking to a particular
situation and spoke only what was needed at that point. He also spoke in many
ways: dreams, visions, apparently audible words, angelic visitations, through a
donkey. Saphir (I, 20) states that “in many portions” refers more to the matter,
portions of Scripture, and “in many ways,” more to the methods of revelation.
Christ was neither in many portions nor in many ways. God spoke in the Word
become flesh (Jn. 1.14), a man who was also fully God and contained in himself all
that God is and all that he had to say. He is the last Word. When God has “spoken
the Lord Jesus” there is nothing more to say. And as such, he is also superior to the
prophets.
There is dispute about how the word “Son” in this second verse should be
translated. Pardon the grammar lesson, but the Greek language has the definite
article, “the,” but it does not have the indefinite article, “a.” Where the indefinite is
intended there is simply the word with no article. But that also leaves open the
possibility that the word should be translated without an article. In Heb. 1.2, “Son”
has no article, so it could be translated literally, “God has spoken in Son,” or, “God
has spoken in a Son.” Most translators render it, “God has spoken in his Son.” The
argument is that if it is translated “a Son,” that might leave open the possibility of
other sons, and, “God has spoken in Son,” does not read well, and since we know
it is the Lord Jesus, God’s only Son, we should translate it “his Son.” I have no
problem with this except that I believe in translating the Scriptures as literally as
possible and letting the reader make his own decision before God. That is why
men died to get us the Scriptures in our language, so that we could read them for
ourselves prayerfully before God, without a human priest intervening. That is
something else Christ died for. So now you know!
This saying that God has spoken in Son means to emphasize the fact that
this one whom God sent into the world is not a prophet or some other messenger
of God, but he is Son, he is family. The parable of the vineyard in Mk. 12 shows
the owner of the vineyard sending a succession of slaves to receive some of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
beloved son, saying, “They will respect my son.” The application is so obvious, that
the owner is the Father, the vine growers are the Jews, the slaves are prophets, and
the beloved son is the Lord Jesus. And we know, of course, that he was (and is)
God’s only beloved Son. It is one thing to send a slave. It is another to send a son.
And it is even more another thing to send one’s only beloved son. That is what the
love of God did for us. He knew what his Son would go through to save us, and
he went ahead with it. He spoke “in Son.”
In addition, this stressing of the manner of speaking as “in Son” underlines
the divinity of the Lord Jesus. To Jewish ears the phrase “son of God” could imply
nothing but divinity. This was either true or it was blasphemy (the “legal” reason
the Lord Jesus was crucified from the standpoint of the Jews, the charge against
him). If it is true, and it is, this fact of divinity gives added, indeed, decisive, force
to the writer’s exhortation to endure to the end.
There is one other aspect of this matter of speaking \u201cin Son\u201d that is very
tender and lovely. Most men, probably virtually all, have been called \u201cson\u201d by
their fathers. I have never heard a girl called \u201cdaughter\u201d in that way. This does not
mean that a father does not love his daughter just as much as his son, but there is
a special relationship between father and son, just as between mother and
daughter. Calling a son \u201cson\u201d is like calling his name, except that it is a very special
name. My son is not just Mike or Joe or Bill, he is Son. There are many Mikes and
Joes and Bills, but there is only one son, at least one at a time, as a man may have
many sons. When God calls his Son \u201cSon,\u201d it is using a very special pet name. He
is showing his special love for this one. He is not just any son. Indeed, the Father
says several times over in the Scriptures, \u201cThis is my beloved Son.\u201d He is God\u2019s
only begotten. He is Son. Son has the stature of a name. God spoke through Elijah
and Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Son. He spoke through Son, his only and
dearly beloved son.
One of the primary truths that come out in these first words of Hebrews is
that God is a speaking God. What a revelation of the nature of God this is. The
history of men’s religions shows over and over that instead of the gods
communicating with men, men try to contact them or figure them out. Or there
are a few priests who speak for the god or the gods, and all the mass of people
have to follow what they say. Of course, the priests usually use their position to
their own advantage. The gods of men’s imaginations are idols. They have mouths,
but they cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see, ears, but they cannot hear, noses,
but they cannot smell, hands, but they cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk (Ps.
115.5-7). Mouths, but they cannot speak! But the God of the Bible speaks! It is his
delight to reveal himself to us, his nature, his requirements, his plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture. Indeed what is Scripture but a written record of the speaking of God? It
is the other side of faith. Faith is the human response to the divine speaking. God
says something, and it is up to us to believe it and act on it. Indeed, Paul said,
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the speaking [rema] of Christ.”
(Rom. 10.17) There are two words for “word” in Greek. One is logos and the other
is rema. The logos is the fundamental word of God that is true whether anyone
believes it or not. The Bible is first of all logos. Rema refers to a word of God spoken
livingly to someone, a spoken word. It can, of course, and usually does, include
the written word, logos, which God may bring alive to a person. I am sure you have
had this experience. Paul is saying that what brings the word of God alive to us is
this speaking livingly to our hearts by God. That awakens faith.
The speaking of God begins at the very beginning of the Bible. The first two
verses of the Bible set the stage, then Gen. 1.3 says, “Then God said\u2026.” Eleven
times God says something in Gen. 1! The Old Testament is the record of God’s
speaking with his people, with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses, Joshua, the prophets, on and on. The resounding phrase of the prophets is,
“Thus says the Lord.” Our God speaks. He tells us about himself and what he
expects of us.
A vital aspect of this speaking of God is that his word has power to bring
about what he says. I could say all day, “Let there be light,” and there would not
be any light (unless I were obeying God in saying it). My word has no power to
accomplish what I say. But God’s word does. When he said, “Let there be light,”
the whole universe lit up! When the Lord Jesus said, “Be healed,” the person was
healed. Even when he said, “Lazarus, come forth,” the dead man came back to life.
What power to accomplish there is in the word of God. There is more than we
understand about this power of the word. May the Lord be pleased to teach us
what we need to know.
He did this at first, long ago, through prophets. Now, in these last days, he
has spoken not just through a man, but through a Man who is the Word become
flesh (logos in Greek, Jn. 1.14). He has spoken in his Son, his only begotten Son, the
Lord Jesus. What a novel thought, that a man is a speaking. In the Old Testament
the prophets were important as messengers, but they were not themselves the
message. They were men of God who passed on what God said. But the Lord Jesus
is the message. He is what God says.
The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus is the Word of God. Jn. 1 reveals this
truth. What does this mean? It means that the Lord Jesus is the expression of God.
What God is in his nature the Lord Jesus reveals. What God thinks, the Lord Jesus
expresses. Hebrews confirms those beautiful words of Jn. 1 about the Lord Jesus
being the Word of God by saying that God has spoken in Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
what he has said, but it can all be summed up in two words, love and authority.
God is love (1 Jn. 4.8, 16). He loved fallen men so much that he gave his only
begotten Son to die for their sins. He took our judgment on himself. He, the
Offended, made the way for us, the offenders, to find forgiveness, reconciliation,
life, a relationship with him. The depth of his love cannot be fathomed, and this
love is what the Word become flesh speaks.
We find that authority is also at the heart of the Trinity. There are Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Son has ever been submissive to the Father (Mt. 26.39,
Rev. 13.8). When God made man, he gave the man headship over the woman and
the two of them authority over creation. He gave law and kings. In the Lord Jesus
as a man on this earth we see the authority of the Father. In the Good News
According to John we read that he said only what the Father said and did only
what the Father did. He himself had authority over creation, demons, sickness. In
Mt. 8.5-13, especially v. 9, we learn that the Lord Jesus could exercise authority
because he was under authority. Even at his arrest, trial, and crucifixion, he was in
charge. He had to help the mob arrest him (18.5-8). He controlled the “trial” by his
answers and his silence. He reigned from the cross: he was not killed, but
dismissed his spirit when his time to die came (Mt. 27.50, Jn. 19.30).
It is vital that we see both love and authority so that we have a properly
balanced view of God. We are living in a day when everyone stresses the love of
God above all else, so we end up with a God who loves and blesses everyone no
matter what. There is no judgment. There is no hell. That is not what the Bible says.
The righteousness of God, an aspect of his authority, demands justice and the
judgment of sin. Our God does indeed love us, and he loves the world, but all who
know him also know that he convicts of sin and wages an unending war on our
flesh (see Ex. 17.16). The same passage that says that “God so loved the world” also
says that “he who does not have faith [in the Lord Jesus] has been judged already.”
(Jn. 3.18)
We will see many more specific truths that this living Word speaks, but they
all come back to the fundamental revelation of the nature of God: he is love and
authority.
Hebrews goes on now to give a list of facts about the position of the Lord
Jesus before God. It says first, in 1.2, that God has appointed him heir of all things.
What a meaningful statement this is! It has to do with the eternal purpose of God.
We tend to think of God’s purpose in terms of the redemption of men, but this is
not God’s eternal purpose at all. God made man without sin and had plans for
him. Man thwarted those plans, though, by sinning, and made redemption
necessary, not as the purpose of God, but to get man back where he was before the
fall so God can get on with his purpose. What is that purpose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
delights in that Son. More than once he said to men, “This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” We spoke of God’s love just above and noted the
relationship within the Trinity. The Father and the Son had been in a perfect
relationship of perfect love for eternity. No wonder he loves his Son so much! And
the Bible says little about the Holy Spirit in these matters, dealing mostly with his
work, and that work is primarily to glorify the Son, not himself, but do not forget
that he is just as much a part of the Trinity and the relationship of love.
God’s purpose centers on his Son. He wants to display his glory through
his Son for all the universe to see, and he wants everything in the universe to reflect
this glory, having been redeemed from the fall by his Son. God is rich. We think of
riches in monetary terms. Of course, all the money there is belongs to him, as well
as every other material thing, all the universe. But God’s wealth is not really
monetary. His wealth is primarily spiritual. We cannot describe the spiritual riches
of God in human terms. Eph. 1.3 says that God “has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.” If every saved Jew and every Christian who
ever lived has received every spiritual blessing, that is a lot of blessing. And think<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
blessing. You get the idea. It is the plan of God, rich materially and spiritually, to
give everything to the Son in whom he delights. He has appointed him heir of all
things.
There is a second part to this purpose of God. He does not want his Son to
be alone. He wants him to have a companion. That is where man comes in. God
made man to provide a companion for his Son, a bride who would reign by his
side over all the riches that God will give to him. God wanted to take this innocent
creature and train him through the experiences of life to bring him to a point of
readiness to reign. Thus his Son would have a corporate bride, made up of millions
of men and women who had been trained by God for the throne of the universe.
Of course, man fell into sin and necessitated the plan of redemption that we have
seen unfolding for the past few thousand years. Its goal is to bring us to that point
of reigning with Christ. God’s eternal purpose is to give all things to his heir, his
Son, and to provide him with a bride, and then to go on from there into eternity
expressing his amazing creativity. He has not given up on that purpose.
As Eph. 1.10-12 puts it, God
\u2026 made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure, which he purposed in him for stewardship of the fullness of the times:
to sum up all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth, in
him, in whom we were also chosen for an inheritance, having been predestined<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
of his will for us to be for the praise of his glory\u2026.
Everything is to center on his beloved Son, heir of all things.
through whom also he made the ages,
Hebrews next tells us that it was the Lord Jesus through whom God made
the ages. The Greek word for “age” (aion = our aeon, a long period of time) can also
be translated “world.” I prefer “age” because the time element is definitely there.
The biblical truth it conveys when applied to this world is that “this present evil
age,” or “world,” (Gal. 1.4) has an end. Praise God, this evil age will not last forever.
Marvin Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. 3 and 4, p. 863) puts it well:
Ages “does not mean times, as if representing the Son as the creator of all time and
times, but creation unfolded in time through successive aeons. All that, in
successive periods of time, has come to pass, has come to pass through him.” There
are many ages, and these ages are the time element of creation.
The Lord Jesus was the agent of God in creation. We see this truth in other
passages of Scripture. Jn. 1.3 says that “everything came into being through him,
and without him nothing came into being,” and Col. 1.16 says, “For by him were
created all things in the skies and on the earth, things visible and things invisible,
whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities. All things have been created
through him and for him.” This agency of Christ in creation is an extension of his
being the Word of God. We saw that Gen. 1 repeatedly says, “And God said,\u2026”
and that by means of that spoken Word he created the universe. Heb. 11.3 says the
same thing: “By faith we understand that the ages were prepared by God’s Word,
so that what is seen was not made from what is visible.” This Lord Jesus who came
to this earth to lay down his life for creation is himself the Creator. He came to
redeem what he had made.
It is a remarkable thing that our God was able to make everything out of
nothing. Man can be very inventive, but he requires something to work with. God
made everything out of nothing, and he did it with only words. He spoke the
universe into being. And he thought of everything that exists before it existed! The
creative Word that he spoke was his Son. Through the Lord Jesus, the ages were
made.
3who being the radiance of his glory and the full expression of his nature,
Then Hebrews uses one of the most beautiful phrases in God’s word, telling
us that the Lord Jesus is the “radiance of [God’s] glory and the express image of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
only look to the Lord Jesus. He is the full revelation of God. God is like him. What
is the Lord Jesus like? The phrase says specifically that he is the radiance of God’s
glory. We tend to think of glory in terms of light, and indeed that is an element of
the concept, for the appearances of God in the Old Testament were often
accompanied by great brightness, and Acts 9.3 reports that at Paul’s conversion
there was a great light shining around him. In fact, it blinded him! But the basic
idea of glory is not light, but weight. There is something weighty or substantial
about God. He is impressive. Gravitas. Gravitas on steroids! When he appears or
acts men are forced to take notice. They cannot ignore God. The Lord Jesus was
like that in the days of his flesh on earth. Men could not ignore him. When he came
onto the scene, men were forced to respond to him. There was something of great
substance about him. He was the radiance of the glory of God. That which is so
substantial about God found fleshly revelation in the Lord Jesus.
Another aspect of glory is fame and honor. We speak of glory won on the
battlefield by a soldier or an army, or on the field of play by an athlete or a team.
They are honored for fame rightly gained. If we glorify men for human
achievement, imagine the glory of God, he who created everything out of nothing,
who made man and gave him life, who redeemed him from sin and gave him life,
and on we could go. The achievements of God are beyond our grasp. He is due
infinite honor, for his glory is infinite.
The Lord Jesus radiates this glory. We might have said that he reflects God’s
glory, but that would be incorrect. A reflector does not send out its own light, but
that of another: our dark moon reflects the light of the sun. But the Lord Jesus was
(and is) God in the flesh. He has shared the glory with the Father from eternity (Jn.
17.5). He was not reflecting the glory of another, but radiating his own glory that
he shared with the Father.
The Lord Jesus is also the full expression of God. It is difficult to translate
this Greek word (charakter) in this context. It could be translated \u201cimage\u201d or
\u201clikeness,\u201d but the Lord Jesus is not an image or likeness of God. He is God. \u201cFull
expression\u201d is not an exact translation, but an attempt to convey the fact that the
human person, Jesus, expresses completely the nature of the invisible God. Dods,
pg. 251, writes that the Greek word (charakter) “denoted the impress or mark made
by the graving tool, especially the mark upon a coin which determined its
value\u2026.” The idea is that the man Jesus had been stamped with the exact image of
God and represented him perfectly. I believe that this is true, but with one
disclaimer: the Lord Jesus is not some object separate from God that was stamped
with an image not his own. As with his radiating of the glory of God, he is the
image of God (Col. 1.15) in the flesh. He is the express image because he is God in
the flesh. Perhaps the best way to express the thought is that the divine image of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
an image, but the divine reality himself, but as a man he was the visible image of
divinity. The divinity is the \u201cgraving tool;\u201d the humanity is the image it makes on
flesh. What we see in the Lord Jesus reveals the character of God. As he himself
said, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn. 14.9) What does the Lord
Jesus reveal about God? Above all that he is love and authority. Our God is not
one of the capricious gods of heathenism whose devotees fear and appease them.
He loves us, so much so that he took it upon himself to provide for our salvation
when we had wronged him. We need not linger here. How can we express the love
of God? We cannot. How can we express the authority of God that enables him to
control everything that comes into our lives and uses all for our good (Rom. 8.28-
29)? We cannot. We can only point to the Lord Jesus, the full expression of his
nature.
and bearing all things by the speaking of his power,
The next phrase is “bearing all things by the speaking of his power.” Not
only is the Lord Jesus the Creator of the universe, he is also its Sustainer. He holds
it together. It is as though all the universe were in the hand of the Lord Jesus and
if he loosened his grip it would fly apart. Col. 1.17 tells us, “He is before all things,
and all things hold together in him.” As indicated by the translation of this verse
in Hebrews, the word for the Lord’s sustaining of the universe is “bears.” He
literally carries the universe in his hand. Our Creator is not some disinterested
God who made the universe and then left it to run on its own (deism). He sustains
it. He is interested in us. He wants men to come to a knowledge of himself. On the
other side, all the defiance of God by evil men is done at his pleasure. If he
loosened his grip, they would fly apart along with everything else. He gives them
freedom to flaunt their pride. One day he will deal with them. Meanwhile, it is he
who sustains them and the very stage on which they strut.
Please note, too, from the translation of this verse that the Lord sustains the
universe “by the speaking of his power.” We referred above to the living speaking
of a word by God to a person, rema. Here we see rema as the speaking of the Lord
Jesus to the universe, telling it what to do and not do. It is not running on its own.
The Lord who spoke it into being is continuously speaking to it. We also referred
above to the fact that the speaking of God has power to accomplish what he says.
Here we see that power in universal proportions! The Lord Jesus constantly speaks
to the universe and it constantly does what he says. He bears it “by the speaking of
his power.” There is power in the word of God.
G.H. Lang says, \u201cThe application of this to the soul is seen at 12.25: \u2018See that
ye refuse not Him that speaketh.\u2019 Since it is His word that keeps all things in order,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
misery in that portion of life, and many do so entirely.\u201d (G.H. Lang, The Epistle to
the Hebrews, p. 27) Keep in mind here that the word that Lang translates \u201cword\u201d is
rema, \u201cspeaking.\u201d
Saphir writes of all these aspects of the Lord Jesus,
It is of the incarnate Son of God that the apostle speaks; and showing
unto us His glory, he leads us, in the first place, to the end of all history, He
is appointed the heir of all things; (2) to the beginning of all history, in Him
God made the ages; (3) before all history, He is the brightness of His glory,
and the express image of His being; (4) throughout all history, He upholdeth
all things by the word [speaking] of His power. (I, 48)
having made purification of sins,
Now Hebrews points out explicitly what we have already said about the
Creator also being the Redeemer: “having made purification of sins.” This was the
primary reason for the coming of the Lord Jesus to earth as a man. The sins of men
had interrupted the purpose of God, as we noted above, so the Lord Jesus came to
deal with sin and restore men to a right relationship with God, both for the sake
of man and so that God could realize his purpose. He made this purification by
the shedding of his blood and the giving of his life on the cross. We will not deal
with this subject at length now, for it will come out fully as we go through
Hebrews. Suffice it to say that we were defiled before God by our sins, spiritually
dirty and impure, and the Lord Jesus provided the purification that brought us
into fellowship with God.
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
We come now to one of the most important thoughts set forth in Hebrews.
The Lord Jesus, the speaking of the Father, appointed heir, agent of creation, being
the radiance of God’s glory and the express image of his nature, bearing all things,
having made purification of sins, sat. Why is this little word “sat” so important?
This thought is stated three more times in Hebrews, and these repetitions will help
us answer this question.
8.1: “\u2026we have such a High Priest, who sat down at the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in the heavens\u2026.”
10.11-12: “And every priest stood day by day ministering and offering the
same sacrifices repeatedly, which can never take away sins, but this one<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of God\u2026.” (italics mine)
12.2: “\u2026Jesus, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising
the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Heb. 10.11-12 tells us plainly. We have seen that the basis of the exhortation of
Hebrews is the superiority of Christ in every way. We see here that he is a superior
priest because unlike the Jewish priests who still stand, “ministering and offering
the same sacrifices repeatedly,” because their work is never finished since it cannot
take away sins, the Lord Jesus’ work is finished and he sat down. Sitting is a
symbol of finished work. The Lord Jesus took away sins. There is nothing more to
do for our salvation. The Jewish priests offered millions of sacrifices, but they
never took away sins. The Lord Jesus made one sacrifice, of himself, and that one
sacrifice took away sins forever. “Having made purification of sins, he sat.” The
finished work of Christ.
It is also of note that the High Priests of Israel could enter the Holy of Holies
only once a year, but the Lord Jesus, having died for our sins and flesh and entered
into Heaven itself, the true Holy of Holies, sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God, something no High Priest of Israel could do.
4having become as much better than the angels as he has inherited a more
excellent name than they.
V. 4 continues the list of facts about the Lord Jesus, while at the same time
providing a transition from the thoughts we have been dwelling on to a
comparison of the Lord Jesus with the angels that shows his superiority to them.
The thought in the verse has to do with the manhood of the Lord Jesus. All would
confess that he was better than angels in his divinity. What Hebrews is saying is
that this one who was divine, who has existed as part of the Trinity from eternity,
came to earth as a man and lived a human life, and as a human being has become
better than angels. For a while he was lower than the angels (2.7, 9), but because
of his life of sinless obedience to the will of God, he has been exalted by God to a
position superior to the angels as a man. This is the important point for you and
me. It would be a matter of no difficulty for the Lord Jesus as divine to sit down at
the right hand of God. The wonderful truth for us is that today, right now, there is
a Man in Heaven! That is our hope. We cannot make it to Heaven as men, for we
are sinners, but now a Man has made it to Heaven, and in him we can make it, too,
not by our merits, but by his, through faith in him. Let that marvelous truth sink
in. There is a Man in Heaven. He has become better than angels, and his name is
more excellent than theirs. We do not know what that name is (Rev. 19.12), but we<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2.9-11), that name will
be revealed and we will worship him all the more for the excellence of it. How
wonderful our Lord is, and how rich we are in him!
5For to which of the angels did he ever say, \u201cYou are my Son; today I have
begotten you\u201d? [Ps. 2.7] And again, \u201cI will be to him a father and he will be to
me a son\u201d? [2 Sam. 7.14, 1 Ch. 17.13]
Having made this transition to a comparison of the Lord Jesus with the
angels, Hebrews goes on to quote a number of Old Testament passages and to use
them to show specific points of contrast between them. The writer begins with the
question, “For to which of the angels did he ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I
have begotten you’?” This is a quotation of Ps. 2, a psalm which shows that God
has chosen the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah even though the rulers of the earth
reject him. The Hebrew word “Messiah” (“Christ” is the Greek equivalent) means
“anointed one” and refers to the king. The Israelite king was actually anointed with
oil as a sign of his choice as king, and as the Old Testament promises of a king
from David’s line who would reign eternally began to be applied to a future
deliverer and restorer of Israel, the term took on specific spiritual meaning, and
we as Christians believe that the Lord Jesus fulfilled these promises and is this
Messiah. (Acts 13.33 tells us that the resurrection of the Lord was his begetting.
This should answer the thought that Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father, but
was begotten by him. He is the Son, but he was not begotten as a human child is.)
Ps. 2 declares that the wicked rulers of the earth have rejected the authority
of God and do not want the one he has chosen to be King. Nevertheless, God says
that one will be King, saying to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
This Son of God is the one God delights in and has chosen Heir of all his wealth
and King over his creation.
This was never said of any angel. They are beings created by God, but they
are not sons. They serve him, and he may delight in them, but not as a father does
in his son. The Lord Jesus is as much better than the angels as a son is than a
servant.
This thought is further supported from Scripture by a citation of 2 Sam. 7.14,
“I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son.” This verse is taken from a
passage in which God is promising to David that his son Solomon will rule and
will have a descendant on the throne of Israel forever. The implication of this
statement in Hebrews is that the Lord Jesus is the fulfiller of this promise. The
Davidic kingship of Israel ended with the deportation to Babylon twenty-five
hundred years ago, and there has not been a Davidic king in Israel since, yet God<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the Lord Jesus. He is a descendant of David in the flesh, he has been exalted to the
throne of God, and he will be openly revealed at his second coming as the King
God has chosen to rule the universe. But he is not just a King. He is God’s Son, the
one in whom he delights. The Old Testament promises to David are fulfilled, not
in an angel, but in a Son. He is that much better than angels. Indeed he is infinitely
better than angels, for he is God, God the Son.
6But when he will have again brought the firstborn into the inhabited earth he
says, \u201cLet all the angels of God worship him.” [Dt. 32.43 LXX = the Greek
translation of the Old Testament, which sometimes is different from the Hebrew
original]
V. 6 contains another reference to the Old Testament, but it begins, “But
when he again brings the firstborn into the inhabited earth he says,” What does the
writer mean by referring to the Lord Jesus as the firstborn? Col. 1.15 says that the
Lord Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation.” Col. 1.18 and Rev. 1.5 tell us that the
Lord Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. He is in no sense born as we are, not
having had existence, then being conceived and brought to birth. He has existed
eternally. But what does it mean that he is firstborn from the dead? Without going
into detail, which we will do when we come to Heb. 12.23, “the church of the
firstborn ones,” let us just say that the concept of the firstborn in Scripture is more
a spiritual one than a physical. Even though the physically firstborn had the right
to a double portion of the material inheritance, it was often one who was not
firstborn physically who carried on the spiritual line of what God was doing. For
example, Esau was firstborn physically, but he was a man of this world with no
interest in spiritual things, but Jacob carried on spiritually and founded the basis
of Israel, the twelve tribes. Like Jacob, the Lord Jesus is firstborn spiritually, that
is, the one who carries on what God is doing.
In addition, Adam was the firstborn man of the original creation, but he fell
into sin and brought the fall on all creation. The Lord Jesus is the second man (1
Cor. 15.47) and the last Adam (1 Cor. 15.45) who reversed what Adam did and
thus obtained the right of the spiritually firstborn to carry on the spiritual work of
God. Just as Adam was not actually born, so was our Lord Jesus not born in the
sense we noted above of not having had existence, then being conceived and born.
The firstborn is the one who has the right of the spiritual double portion. He is the
spiritual head. And our Lord Jesus is just that. Though not created, he is the
spiritual Head of all creation because he has rescued man from the fall by pursuing
the things of God as a man, by perfect obedience to the Father, even to the point<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of Firstborn of everything created (Phil. 2.9).
Now to Col. 1.18 and Rev. 1.5, the firstborn from the dead. Coming back to
life from the dead is like a new birth and was a birth from the grave to life. In
addition, the new life that he came into at resurrection was not the old life he had
before his death. He did not come back to the same physical life. He was
transformed. He came back with a spiritual body, one no longer subject to disease,
death, and decay. (Let me say here that the physical body of the Lord Jesus before
his death was not subject to death because he had no sin, but it was capable of
death in that he laid down his life. He dismissed his spirit, as we saw earlier.) His
resurrection from the dead was in a sense a birth into a new kind of life, and it is
our hope. Because he is the first to have been “born” from the dead, so can we be
born from the dead. See 1 Cor. 15.12-19, where Paul makes clear the necessity of
the resurrection for our hope.
Rom. 8.28-29 also helps us: “But we know that for those who love God, all
things work together for good, for those who are called according to purpose. For
whom he foreknew he predestined for conformity to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brothers.” The point here is that God is
delighted with the Lord Jesus. He is such a wonderful Son that God wants many
more like him. Thus God has chosen to use the circumstances of life to deal with
us in such a way as to make us like the Lord Jesus, or more accurately, to form him
in us (Gal. 4.19).Thus the Lord Jesus will not be an only Son, but the Firstborn. He
is our God, he is our Savior, he is our Lord, and in this sense he is our Brother. He
has many brothers. And in Christ there is neither male nor female: the ladies
qualify, too. (The men get to be a part of the bride, and the ladies get to be sons
and brothers!)
What is meant by again bringing the firstborn into the inhabited earth? The
Scripture quoted in this verse is from Dt. 32.43 in the Greek version of the Old
Testament, translated for Greek-speaking Jews who did not read Hebrew. There
are passages in the Greek version which do not agree with the Hebrew. If you read
Dt. 32.43 in your English Bible, you will not see, “Let all the angels of God worship
him,” or anything similar to it. But look at Ps. 97. If we read that psalm, we see that
it begins with the declaration that the Lord reigns, and this calls for the rejoicing
of the earth. Then we see the Lord coming in the clouds with judgment. Then we
read that the heavens declare his righteousness and all the peoples have seen his
glory. This could be nothing other than the second coming of the Lord Jesus. He
was brought into the world the first time in humiliation, to lay down his life. He is
coming the second time in glory, to establish his kingdom on the earth. At this
point, all idol worshippers are called on to be ashamed, and the angels are called
on to worship the Lord. Ps. 97.7 in Hebrew says, “Worship him, all you gods.” This<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“gods” is used in the Hebrew Old Testament to refer to angels, and that is the case
here, and Hebrews clarifies the word, interpreting it as “angels.” All the angels are
called on to worship the Lord Jesus as the Coming King at his return. Probably we
should use this psalm as the explanation of Heb. 1.6. In fact, the New American
Standard Bible refers this quotation to Ps. 97.7 in its marginal notes, with no
mention of Dt. 32.43, though that verse in Greek is where the exact quotation is
located.
\u201cThe inhabited earth” is another term for the world in the Greek New
Testament. The usual word for “world” is kosmos. This is the word used for the
world as organized against God under Satan, the ruler of this world (kosmos) (Jn.
12.31). We also see in 2 Cor. 4.4 that Satan is “the god of this age,” a usage similar
to that of “gods” for angels in Ps. 97.7 (he was an angel). The word used here in
Heb. 1.6 (oikoumene) looks at the world as the dwelling place of men (the inhabited
earth), and may refer to the entire universe, where angels may dwell, and the
thought is probably conveyed that everywhere that people, or any beings, dwell
the Lord reigns, invisibly now, but in his coming millennial kingdom his glory will
extend to every nook and cranny where someone may dwell. “For the earth will
be filled with the knowledge of the glory of I AM, as the waters cover the sea.”
(Hab. 2.14)
7And to the angels he says, \u201cThe one making his angels winds and his ministers
a flame of fire. [Ps. 104.4]
The contrast of the Lord Jesus with the angels is seen in the fact that he is
worshipped, while the angels do the worshipping, as the previous verse said. Now
we see that they are ministers, servants. Indeed the Greek word for “ministers” in
v. 7 (leitourgos – our “liturgy”) is a technical term for one who held the priestly office
in Israel, one who conducted the official worship of Israel, though this word is also
a general term for “servant” in the New Testament. One of the services of these
servants is the worship of God, including the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is as much
better than the angels as the one who is worshipped is better than the worshippers.
Let us not minimize the matter of being servants. The Lord Jesus made it
quite plain in his ministry on earth in the flesh that the greatest of all in the coming
kingdom would be servants, not those who want to be the greatest. The Lord is
not saying here that he is better than angels because they are servants and he is
above servants, for he is the greatest servant of all and the greatest in the kingdom.
This verse leads to the next, of course, and in it we see that the Lord Jesus is God.
That is the basis of his superiority to those who are servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
shows God in his greatness, in his own glory, as Creator, and as Lord, over his
creation. In contrast to this great God are the angels, who are his servants in his
carrying out his work in creation. V. 3 of this psalm says that God “walks on the
wings of the wind,” and then v. 4 says that God “makes winds his messengers [or
angels].” Once again the quotation in Hebrews is from the Greek Old Testament:
“who makes his angels winds.” The impression is that God moves about as these
angels who have become winds bear him on his journey. The Hebrew Old
Testament has the word ruach for winds. This word can also mean \u201cspirit.\u201d The
Greek Old Testament also has the word for \u201cspirit,\u201d pneuma, which can also mean
\u201cwind.\u201d Just to make it interesting, Ps. 103.3 referred to in this paragraph, has ruach
(spirit) for \u201cwind,\u201d but the Greek Old Testament has the word for \u201cwinds.\u201d And,
back in v. 4, where it is obvious that the winds are angels, the word for
\u201cmessengers\u201d also means \u201cangels\u201d! Confused yet?
Remember that the Lord Jesus is the agent of God in creation. God’s
greatness as Creator is manifested through the Lord Jesus, the one who is greater
than angels.
8But to the Son, \u201cYour throne, God, is into the age of the age, and the scepter of
uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
lawlessness. Because of this God, your God, anointed you with the oil of
gladness above your companions.” [Ps. 45.6-7]
Next, Ps. 45.8 says that God the Father addressed his Son as God and
referred to his throne. Thus he is a King. This King who is also God is a King whose
reign is eternal, as the Greek phrase “into the age of the age” means (any time you
see this phrase or one similar, such as into the age or ages, it means “forever” or
“eternal.” I like to translate literally). We saw earlier that there are ages of time.
There was the age of the old covenant when God dealt with his people through
the law, not to bring them to salvation through the law, but to show them that they
could not keep the law and needed something, Someone, else. The law was
intended to be their tutor to Christ (Gal. 3.24), but when he came, most of them
could not give up the earthly things that were to lead them to the heavenly (a major
theme in Hebrews, as we will see), and rejected the heavenly for the earthly. We
are now in the age of grace. The millennial age is coming. And then there are the
ages of the ages, eternity, in which time will be no more. That is the reference here
in Heb. 1.8.
When our verses mention the scepter of uprightness as the scepter of the
Lord’s kingdom, the primary reference seems to be to justice. V. 9 goes on to say
that he has loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. There are two aspects of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God because we have been forgiven for our sins and declared not guilty, and have
received the righteousness of Christ as our own. We are righteous. The other
aspect is doing what is right. It is justice. One of the great evils of our world is
injustice, and that was one of the three primary evils for which God judged his
people in the Old Testament. Those three were idolatry, immorality, and injustice.
We have all three still today, throughout the world, but injustice is especially
vexing because it is something those who are treated unjustly can do little about.
Idolatry and immorality are largely a matter of one’s own choice, but injustice is
the exercise of power by the strong in their favor and against the poor and the
weak. So often \u201cjustice\u201d is for sale to the highest bidder. That is the world’s nature
and it will not change, but when it is replaced by the kingdom of God, the scepter
of that kingdom will be a scepter of justice, of uprightness, of righteousness.
The passage continues by saying that because of this devotion to justice,
“God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your
companions.” We are not told the exact reference of this anointing, but we do know
that anointing was reserved for prophets, priests, and kings as establishing them
in their offices. It could also be a means of honoring someone or celebration of
some achievement or occasion. The Lord Jesus was so honored by the Father as a
result of his commitment to justice, and it may be that his ascension to Heaven
after his resurrection was also being celebrated. It seems to me, also, that, since oil
is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, the fulfillment of this quotation from Ps.
45 may be seen at Pentecost in Acts 2.33: “Therefore having been exalted to the
right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the
Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear.” The Lord Jesus was
anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit, the oil of gladness, as a man on earth (Lk.
3.22) and received the promise of the Holy Spirit in Heaven and thus was able to
enjoy the great privilege and blessing of pouring him out on his people. Thus did
he receive the oil above his companions. They would also be anointed, but their
anointing is really a sharing in the anointing of the Lord Jesus (Ps. 133.2, the oil of
the Head, Jesus, flowing down onto his people), and his anointing gave him the
honor of pouring the Spirit out.
10And, \u201cYou at the beginning, Lord, laid the foundations of the earth, and the
skies are the works of your hands. 11They will perish, but you remain, and all
as a garment will grow old, 12and as a robe you will roll them up. As a garment
they will also be changed, but you are the same and your years will not cease.”
[Ps. 102.25-27]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
moves on to Ps. 102.25-27. These verses do not mention angels, nor does Hebrews
in this place, but the point is that only the Lord Jesus did the things listed in these
verses, as no angel or company of angels could have done. This psalm pictures a
man in great distress, despairing even of a normal life span. In the course of
mourning his own condition, he looks to God and speaks the words just quoted.
Of course, in the psalm, the words are addressed to God by his personal name, I
AM, as given to Moses in Ex. 3.14, translated “LORD” in all capital letters in most
of our versions, and we would take this address as to the Father. Hebrews applies
them to the Lord Jesus, showing the oneness of himself with the Father.
As Creator, the Lord Jesus laid the foundations of the earth and made the
skies (all the universe). These things that he made will perish, but he remains. They
will grow old as a garment; they will be rolled up as a robe; as a garment they will
be changed, but he will always be the same (Heb. 13.8) and his years will have no
end. The angels could not have done these things, and though they will live
forever, it is by his sustaining them, not by their own power to live.
The importance of the unchanging nature of the Lord Jesus can be seen in
many ways. For example, the gods of heathenism are capricious. They might
change their minds at any time. They could be moody gods. They might toy with
their people. Their subjects must give them gifts and perform all sorts of terrible
deeds, even child sacrifice, to appease them. But our God loves us, and his loving
nature will never change. We do not need to worry that he may change his mind
about us. We do not need to worry that he might wake up in a bad mood tomorrow
and bring disaster on us because of it. We will have difficulties in life, but they are
intended to be used by him for our good (Rom. 8.28-29). He is always the same in
his love and care for us.
One of the facts about the Lord Jesus that Hebrews stresses is his humanity
(especially 2.10, 5.8), and in Heb. 1.1-9, we see the Lord Jesus as human. He is the
Son through whom God has spoken; that is, he is the Man, Son of Man, who has
come to earth to be the speaking of God and to carry out his will. All of the glorious
things written of him in these verses show what he did as a man, and therefore,
God highly exalted him. Even in v. 8, where he is called God, he has been exalted,
not to divinity, which is inherent, but to the throne because of his career as a man
and God’s perfect pleasure in him. But at v. 10 we begin to see his divinity, for
Hebrews upholds both his divinity and his humanity. Only the divine Son could
have created the universe. Only the divine Son could be eternally unchanging and
inherently eternal. In all of these ways he is superior to angels.
13But to which of the angels has he ever said, \u201cSit at my right hand until I may
place your enemies a footstool of your feet\u201d? [Ps. 110.1] 14Are they not all<\/p>\n\n\n\n
salvation?
This train of thought about the Creator-King who will reign eternally finds
its climax in Heb. 1.13 in the quotation of Ps. 110.1, the Old Testament verse most
quoted in the New Testament: “But to which of the angels has he ever said, ‘Sit at
my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool of your feet.’?” This psalm
recalls Ps. 2, referred to in Heb. 1.5, with its picture of God’s chosen King reigning
in the midst of his enemies, triumphing over all who would reject his kingship.
This placing of the Lord Jesus at the Father’s right hand is a part of his exaltation
to the highest place that we have been seeing. To which of his angels has God ever
said such a thing? To none, for they are not the triumphant Son exalted, but they
are ministering (again, the word leitourgos in its adjective form leitourgikos) spirits,
sent into the world to serve us, those who will inherit salvation. Yes, servants are
great in the kingdom, but no one else is the equal of the Son. He is Savior and King
and Lord. Only to him did God ever say these wonderful things. He is as much
better than angels as he has inherited a more excellent name that they. Again, he
is the greatest Servant, as attested by the things he has done recorded here in the
first chapter of Hebrews, and he is the greatest in the kingdom. Even as all the
angels of God worship him, let us worship him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 2.1-18
We saw in our introduction that Hebrews is an exhortation and that it
exhorts both by setting forth the superiority of Christ and by using warnings to
reinforce what he is saying, sometimes using the word “if.” The first warning and
“if” occur here at the beginning of chapter 2 of Hebrews.
Warning and Exhortation<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
things having been heard so that we do not drift away. 2For IF the word having
been spoken through angels was firm and every violation and disobedience
received just retribution, 3how will we escape having neglected so great a
salvation, which having received a beginning of being spoken through the Lord
was confirmed to us by those having heard, 4God testifying with them by signs
and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit
according to his will,<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
He is not a silent God, but one who has things to say to us and who delights to
make himself known. He spoke through the Old Testament prophets and he spoke
through the Lord Jesus, and we have the written word. Heb. 2 now stresses the
importance of this fact about God by beginning, “Because of this it is more
abundantly necessary for us to pay attention to what was heard\u2026.” What was heard.
Those are the words that claim our attention, for they refer to Heb. 1.2, “God has
spoken.” How vital it is that we understand that God speaks and that we pay close
attention to what he says. His words are the words of life (Jn. 6.63). With this
thought Hebrews begins the series of exhortations that continue throughout the
book. We are exhorted to pay close attention to what God has said.
Why is it so important that we pay close attention to what God has said?
Aside from the fact that it is God who said it, and God is ultimately our Judge –
have a little respect for God! \u2013 a part of the central point of Hebrews is that we can
gain all that God has for us spiritually in this age and in the age to come, or we can
suffer loss in that regard, and the book exhorts us to go on to the end with the Lord
Jesus. More of this will come out as we go on.
It is a principle of Scripture that one witness cannot convict a person of
wrong. Dt. 19.15 says, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity
or for any sin in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth
of three witnesses will a matter be established.” The Lord Jesus quotes this verse
in Mt. 18.16 where, in dealing with the case of a sinning brother, he says, “If he
does not listen, take one or two with you, that ‘in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established.'” The writer goes this requirement one
better in Heb. 2.1-4, where he gives a fourfold witness to what God says. God
spoke, and what he said is attested by four witnesses. We neglect it at our peril.
Indeed, our writer asks, “\u2026 [H]ow will we escape when neglecting so great a
salvation\u2026?” What are these four witnesses to the truth of what God has spoken?
The first is the angels. Heb. 2.2 begins, “For IF the word spoken through
angels was firm and every trespass and disobedience received just retribution\u2026.”
Here is the first use of “if” in Hebrews. “If” is a conditional word. That is, if so and
so is done, then so and so will result. If one disobeys the word spoken through
angels, he will receive just retribution. If he keeps that word, he will be rewarded.
Here once again the writer shows the superiority of the Lord to angels. If what was
“spoken through angels was firm and every trespass and disobedience received
just retribution, how will we escape when neglecting so great a salvation?” If we
neglect the salvation revealed in Christ, we will much more receive just
retribution. If we do not neglect it, but receive it and walk in it, we will be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
brings salvation. Walking in it brings reward.)
Phil. 2.12 makes a statement that has been a bit difficult to interpret: \u201c\u2026
work out your own salvation\u2026.\u201d This could sound like salvation by works. But
remember that there are three aspects of salvation in the New Testament. Initial
salvation is being born again and refers to our spirits. Our spirits, dead toward
God (Eph. 2.1), come alive to God when we are born again, born from above, born
of the Holy Spirit. Final salvation is the redemption of the body (Rom. 8.23) when
the Lord Jesus returns. In between is the lifelong experience of having the soul
(psuche in Greek, the psychological aspect) saved. Peter writes of \u201creceiving the
end of your faith, salvation of souls\u201d (1 Pt. 1.9). We are not to neglect our salvation,
which began with new birth, but to work it out, that is, not to neglect it, as Hebrews
warns, but to work with God, cooperate with him in his work in our lives. Submit
to him in his dealings with us as he addresses our fallen flesh and the damage
done to our souls by sin and bad treatment. This is a part of the exhortation of
Hebrews that we go on with the Lord. Our salvation is \u201cso great a salvation,\u201d for
it is not just eternal life, as great as that is, but it is being made whole by God, and
receiving our inheritance in his kingdom. But we must go on with the Lord to
receive that inheritance. Do not neglect so great a salvation.
This is also the first warning in Hebrews of the result of drifting away, of
not going on with the Lord to the end. If we drift away, what happens? Just
retribution. Not loss of salvation, but loss of reward. Take these warnings
seriously. There are several of them, and we will see the gravity of the situation as
we go along.
The word spoken through angels was the law as given to Moses in the book
of Exodus. It is interesting that there is no reference to angels in the Exodus account
of the giving of the law, but apparently further revelation was given to the writers
of Scripture, for other statements in the New Testament agree with this verse in
Hebrews. Acts 7.38, in referring to Moses, says, “This is the one who was in the
congregation in the wilderness with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount
Sinai\u2026.” This verse is a part of Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin, the ruling
body of Judaism. He repeats the thought in v. 53, where he refers to his accusers
as “you who received the law in decrees of angels, and did not keep it.” Paul
expresses the same thought in Gal. 3.19 when he says that the law was “decreed
through angels.”
The Old Testament is full of accounts of appearances of God to men, or of
angels to men, and the description of the one appearing shifts back and forth
between God and angels. Ex. 3 says that an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses
in the burning bush, and that the Lord spoke to Moses from the midst of the bush.
Joshua had the same experience in Josh. 5-6, where the captain of the Lord’s host<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The point is that man cannot look on God and live, so when God appears to a man,
he takes the form of an angel, or he may send an angel as his messenger (the literal
meaning of “angel”). The important thing is that God is communicating with a
man, whether it be directly or by angelic mediation. This is the probable
explanation of the New Testament references to angels at the giving of the law
when the Old Testament does not contain such an account. The point in Hebrews
is that the angels are witnesses to the truth of what God has spoken.
The second witness is the Lord Jesus himself. The great salvation that
Hebrews refers to in 2.3 was, the writer says, at first “spoken through the Lord,”
that is, Jesus. The Scriptures teach that he is the Word of God, as the first chapter
of John makes so clear, and not only did he embody the word, he also spoke the
word. Mk. 1.14-15 tells us that “Jesus came into Galilee preaching the good news
of God and saying, ‘The time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come
near. Repent and have faith in the good news.\u2019\u201d [the literal meaning of the Greek
word for “gospel”] This was the basic message of the Lord Jesus, and the gospels
elaborate on it. As he stood before Pilate to be judged, he was asked if he were a
king. His reply was that he had come to bear witness to the truth (Jn. 18.37). The
mission of the Lord Jesus was manifold, but a part of it was to declare the truth of
what God has spoken. Hebrews calls him as such a witness.
The third witness is the apostles. Heb. 2.3 goes on by saying that this great
salvation that was spoken through the Lord “was confirmed to us by those who
heard.” Of course, we see this truth all through Acts and the epistles. What is the
New Testament but a record of the witness that the apostles bore to the truth of
what God had said in the Old Testament and through the Lord Jesus, his Son? Eph.
2.20 says that God’s household is built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets. Such was the witness borne by the apostles that it is foundational to the
church of God.
The final witness that Hebrews calls is God himself. He does this by
pointing out in v. 4 that God attested the witness of the apostles by granting signs,
wonders, works of power, and distributions of the Holy Spirit. By attesting their
witness he bore witness himself. He backed up their talk with power. The book of
Acts contains numerous examples.
The point of all this is that it is of great importance that God has spoken and
that we pay attention to it. It is so important that God has not only met the
Scriptural requirement of two or three witnesses, but has provided four. It is
important beyond measure that we understand that God has spoken, that we
know what he has said, and that we pay careful attention to it. Indeed, “[H]ow will
we escape when neglecting so great a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
contempt and unbelief; but if it is neglected.\u201d (I, 114) That is, Christians, people
who have the great salvation, can neglect it, at their peril.
In the phrase \u201cso great a salvation,\u201d the usual Greek word for \u201cgreat\u201d (mega,
common in English, such as \u201cmegawatt\u201d) is not used. The word here literally
means \u201cso great,\u201d emphasizing how great it is. It is not just great, but so great. This
underscores the question of Hebrews, \u201cHow will we escape when neglecting\u201d not
just salvation or a great salvation, but \u201cso great a salvation?\u201d Lang writes that the
\u201cso great a salvation\u201d is \u201cthe heavenly prospects of the disciples of Christ who
attain to the first resurrection.\u201d (270). This will be developed as we go along, but
note now that this is at the heart of the message of Hebrews. There is great reward
in going on with the Lord to the end, but the reward can be lost by failing to do so.
Not eternal salvation, but the rewards for those \u201cconsidered worthy of the
kingdom of God.\u201d (2 Thess. 1.5) Not all Christians will be so considered, and the
loss will be great. Heed the warning.
5For not to angels did he subject the inhabited earth to come, concerning which
we are speaking.
Here Hebrews again notes the superiority of the Lord Jesus to angels in
saying that it is to him, not to them, that the inhabited earth to come was subjected.
He takes the highest place in the universe and rules over all. But at this point we
want to pay special attention to the words, “the inhabited earth to come,
concerning which we speak,” for the thoughts set forth in them are central to the
message of Hebrews and give us our title for this work. We will deal with them at
length at this point. The writer says that he is speaking about the inhabited earth
to come. That is the heart of Hebrews. We saw in our introduction that the
inhabited earth to come is the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus.
Scripture teaches that there is an age to come (Eph. 1.21) and that this age
to come will be the manifestation of the kingdom of God (Rev. 11.15). It will be an
age of one thousand years’ duration (Rev. 20.4).The Lord Jesus will reign over a
kingdom of righteousness during this period (2 Pt. 3.13). It is of note that Hebrews
says in 1.9 that God anointed the Lord Jesus with the oil of gladness above his
companions because he loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. This one who
was highly rewarded for love of righteousness will have a kingdom of
righteousness. That righteousness includes justice.
Christian doctrine is quite clear that people are saved by grace through
faith, not by works. Paul is the leading exponent of this truth. In Rom. 3.20, for
example, he writes, “For by works of the law will no flesh be justified before
him\u2026.” (see also vs. 23-24) Probably the best known passage on this doctrine is<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is God\u2019s gift, not of works, that no one may boast.” Even the Old Testament
agrees, saying of Abraham in Gen. 15.6, “And he had faith in I AM, and he counted
it to him for righteousness.” Paul uses this fact to argue for salvation by grace
through faith alone in Rom. 4.3: “Abraham had faith in God and it was counted to
him for righteousness.” He goes on in vs. 9-10 to show that Abraham was saved
by grace through faith before the law was given. All of Rom. 3 and 4 should be
studied in this connection. I want to make it perfectly clear that we are saved by
grace through faith, apart from works.
However, Scripture is also quite clear that God has created us for good
works (Eph. 2.10) and that he has a will for each of our lives (Rom. 12.1-2). In
addition, the Bible teaches that there are rewards for faithfulness to the Lord and
accomplishing his will, and these rewards can be lost. The plainest statement of
this fact is in 1 Cor. 3.11-15. We will quote vs. 14-15: “If anyone’s work remains
which he has built on it, he will receive a reward. If anyone\u2019s work be burned, he
will suffer loss, but he will be saved, but so as through fire” (italics mine).
We do not know all of the rewards of the millennial kingdom, but there are
some that Scripture sets forth that we can take note of. Most of us are familiar with
the crowns set forth in the New Testament as rewards. Paul writes of the crown of
righteousness laid up for him because he had fought the good fight, finished his
course, and kept the faith (2 Tim. 4.7-8). We read of the crown of life awaiting the
one who perseveres under trial and loves the Lord (Ja. 1.12), and who is faithful
unto death (Rev. 2.10). Peter writes of the unfading crown of glory prepared for
elders who shepherd the flock as servants and examples (1 Pt. 5.1-4). These are
rewards that show the Lord’s approval of their recipients and are to be highly
valued, especially if we are to cast them before the Lord Jesus in worship for all he
is to us and all he has done for us. What a wonderful reward to have something of
value to give to him. But a word of caution, of warning, is in place: The Lord Jesus
himself said, \u201cHold fast what you have that no one take your crown.\u201d (Rev. 3.11)
This word was to the church in Philadelphia, the ideal church in Revelation. Those
crowns can be lost. Watch and pray, that \u201cyou may be counted worthy of the
kingdom of God.\u201d (2 Thess. 1.5) This is a part of the message of Hebrews. (See 2
Sam.1.10.)
Another very important aspect of kingdom reward is our inheritance. The
whole matter of inheritance is of great importance in the Scriptures. It all goes back
to Gen. 12.1-3 and 7, where God promised Abraham, “\u2026 I will make of you a great
nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you be [this is the
correct translation] a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will
curse him who curses you, and in you will all the families of the earth be blessed,”
and then added in v. 7, “To your seed I will give this land.” In Josh. 14.6-14 we have<\/p>\n\n\n\n
when the two of them were spies, and which Moses had promised him. In vs. 13
and 14 we read, “And Joshua blessed him and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of
Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb
the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day because he wholly followed I AM,
the God of Israel.” Here we learn that each Israelite had an inheritance in the land,
a plot of ground that was his. We see another example in Josh. 17.3-6 where we
read of Zelophehad’s daughters who asked for an inheritance in the land since
their father had no sons, and their request was granted.
We add to our knowledge in Lev. 25.10, 23, and 24. It was the law in Israel
that every man and his family held the inheritance in perpetuity. If one became so
poor that he had to sell his land, he or a near kinsman had the right to buy it back,
to redeem it, at any time that he became able to do so. If he had not been able to
buy it back when the year of Jubilee came, every fiftieth year, it reverted to him in
that year. We see a full example of this in the book of Ruth, where Elimelech had
sold his land when there was a severe famine and moved to Moab, where he died.
When his widow Naomi returned to Bethlehem, taking with her Ruth, her
daughter-in-law, eventually Boaz, a near kinsman, redeemed the land and married
Ruth, thus keeping the land in the family. This law that the land could not be
permanently sold is of great importance.
In Israel the land was everything. It was the permanent inheritance that
God had given his people. All his promises to them revolved around the land:
peace and prosperity, no sickness or barren women, no failed crops if they obeyed.
They had laws governing the proper care of the land, such as letting it lie fallow
every seventh year. When the Israelites were exiled to Assyria and Babylon, there
was great mourning for the land:
1By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down. Yes, we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2On the willows in the midst of it
We hung our harps.
3For there they that led us captive required of us songs,
And those who plundered us required of us mirth:
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4How will we sing I AM’s song in a foreign land?
5
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
6Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I do not remember you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
. It is still the same to this day. That little piece of land at the eastern end of
the Mediterranean Sea is the center of the earth today. Just read the news. Haaretz
is the leading news medium (web and print) in Israel today. Haaretz (pronounced
hah-AR-ets) means “The Land.”
This importance of the land comes over into the New Covenant in a
spiritual way. In Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesians he said, “And now I
commend you to God and to the word of his grace, who is able to build up and to
give the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20.32) What is the
nature of this inheritance? Eph. 5.5 speaks of evildoers who “do not have an
inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ,” thus indicating that those who
do not do evil do have an inheritance in the kingdom. So it is a kingdom
inheritance, a millennial kingdom inheritance, I believe.
Gal. 3.15-18 draws this thought out further. Paul makes his statement that
“the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed,” and points out that it
does not say “seeds, as to many,” but as to one, and to your Seed, who is Christ.”
His conclusion is, “For if the inheritance is from law, it is no longer from promise,
but God has given it to Abraham through a promise.” It is remarkable to discover
that “by grace through faith” has always been God’s way. The law was given after
grace (see v. 17), and no one has ever been saved through the law. All who were
saved in the Old Covenant were saved by grace through faith. But the point we
want to make in considering this passage is that the inheritance is in Christ. The
inheritance is his. We receive a part in the inheritance by being in Christ. In Rom.
8.17 Paul writes that we are fellow heirs with Christ. To state it plainly, our
inheritance in the kingdom is a share of Christ. Christ is our Land. The Israelites
had a share in the physical land. We have a share in the spiritual Land, in Christ.
Paul tells us in Eph. 1.11, 14 that in Christ we have an inheritance and the Holy
Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. His presence in us guarantees the full
possession in the kingdom of God.
In Col. 3.24 we read that slaves, that is, physical slaves, people who are
owned by others, are to obey their masters and to work wholeheartedly, knowing
that they will receive the reward of the inheritance from the Lord. Heb. 9.15 says
that because of the death of Christ “those who have been called might receive the
promise of the eternal inheritance.” Heb. 11.8 shows us that even Abraham, to
whom the original promise of the physical land was made, has a share in this
spiritual inheritance in the kingdom. The Lord Jesus said, “Abraham your Father
was glad that he might see my day, and he saw and rejoiced.” (Jn. 8.56)
We began at the beginning of the Bible in Gen. 12 and we come at the end
to Rev. 21.1-7, to this wonderful passage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
went away, and the sea is not any more. And the holy city, new Jerusalem,
I saw coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, \u201cBehold
the tabernacle of God with men, and he will tabernacle with them, and they
will be his people and God himself will be with them, and he will wipe
every tear from their eyes, and death will not be any more, and mourning
and crying and pain will not be any more, for the former things have gone
away.\u201d And the one sitting on the throne said, \u201cLook, I make all things
new,\u201d and he said, \u201cWrite, for these words are faithful and true.\u201d And he
said to me, \u201cThey are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water
of life freely. The one who overcomes will inherit these things and I will be
to him God and he himself will be to me a son.
“The one who overcomes will inherit.” The overcomers are those who heed the
exhortation of Hebrews and go on with the Lord to the end, enduring, walking in
victory by faith. All these blessings will be in Christ, the Overcomer. This is one of
the great rewards of those who are accounted worthy. But there is still more.
John mentioned the bride in Rev. 21.2 quoted just above. In 2 Cor. 11.2 Paul
writes, \u201cI am jealous for you with God\u2019s jealousy, for I betrothed you to one
husband to present you a pure virgin to Christ.\u201d In New Testament times betrothal
was similar to our engagement, but it was more legally binding. If a betrothed
couple ended the betrothal, it was considered a divorce even though they had not
been married or consummated the union. We see an example in Joseph when \u201che
decided to divorce [Mary] quietly\u201d when she became pregnant after their
betrothal, but before their marriage. Of course, the Lord intervened in this case,
telling Joseph in a dream that he should marry Mary because her baby was of the
Holy Spirit.
The point is that we have been betrothed to Christ. We are to become his
bride and his wife. We should have the same desire as Paul to be presented to
Christ a pure virgin. One of the more wonderful passages of Scripture is Rev. 19.6-
9:
And I heard something like a voice of a great multitude and something like
a voice of many waters and something like a voice of strong thunders
saying, \u201cHallelujah, for the Lord our God the almighty reigns. Let us rejoice
and be glad and give the glory to him, for the marriage of the little Lamb
has come and his wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the righteous deeds of the saints.\u201d And he said to me, \u201cWrite, \u2018Blessed are
those who are invited to the marriage supper of the little Lamb.\u2019\u201d
This great announcement comes at the end of this age when Christ is about to
return. We see that those who have made themselves ready by their righteous
deeds in this life are allowed to clothe themselves with the wedding garment for
the marriage supper as the corporate wife of the Lamb. Then she will reign with
him as the wife of the King for a thousand years, and then into eternity. Can we
imagine a more intimate and beautiful picture? Lord, hasten that day, too!
Mt. 22.1-14 tells the story of a marriage feast given by a king for his son.
When the invited guests would not come, the king said they were not worthy and
sent his slaves out to bring in anyone they could find, evil or good, and the
wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in he saw one man
not wearing a wedding garment, and he asked him, \u201cFriend, how did you enter
here when you did not have a wedding garment?\u201d The man was speechless and
the king had him thrown out with harsh words, \u201cWhen you have bound him foot
and hand throw him out into the outer darkness.\u201d I believe Jesus spoke the next
words himself, rather than the king in the story: \u201cThere will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth there, for many are called, but few chosen.\u201d
There is much dispute about the meaning of this story with regard to the
man who did not have a wedding garment. Many say that he was not a saved man
at all, but was found to be an interloper, as with the weeds and wheat in the
parable of the Lord Jesus. If this is true, the outer darkness the man in Mt. 22.1-14
was cast into was hell, but I do not believe that is true. This seems to me to confuse
two different periods. At the end the weeds in the kingdom will be separated from
the wheat. The separation of saved and lost (wheat and weeds) occurs at the very
coming of Christ (Rev. 14.14-20, where the saved are harvested and the lost, the
grapes, are picked and thrown into the winepress of the wrath of God). But the
wedding feast occurs in the kingdom on earth after Jesus has touched earth and
established his millennial rule over the earth. No unsaved person could be there.
Those who are alive but lost at the return of Christ are cast into hell at that point
(Mt. 25.41, where the lost, the goats, are not nations, but individual Gentiles). The
outer darkness that the man with no wedding garment was cast into was the
darkness outside the wedding hall, not hell.
Some might object that a saved person could not be weeping and gnashing
his teeth at the return of Christ. Oh? We looked at 1 Cor. 3.15 earlier. Let us quote
it again: \u201cIf any man\u2019s work be burned, he will suffer loss, but he will be saved, but
so as through fire\u201d (italics mine). What does it mean that a Christian, absolutely
stated here as saved, will suffer loss? It means he will lose something in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will lose the opportunity of sharing in the marriage feast of the little Lamb and
of reigning with him in the millennium as his wife. He will miss that most
wonderful of blessings in that age: the highest intimacy with Christ. I believe there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth at that realization. This is the kingdom on
earth, and it is in Heaven that all tears are wiped away, after the millennium (Rev.
21.4). We are trained now by reigning over our circumstances and by carrying out our assignments from the Lord. Those who do not accept this discipline will suffer loss in the kingdom Perhaps the Lord will use the millennial kingdom to train Christians who were not trained in this life to reign with him in eternity, but do not count on that. Nowhere that I am aware of does the Bible say that. Make certain your inheritance in the millennial kingdom and in eternity. Trust and obey now!
That, I believe, is the primary reward of those who weave their wedding
garments in this age by their righteous deeds. And do not forget that regarding
the crowns of righteousness, life, and glory mentioned above, the Lord Jesus said,
\u201cHold fast what you have that no one take your crown.\u201d (Rev. 3.11) Those crowns
can be lost. “See to yourselves that you do not lose the things we have done, but
that you receive a full reward.” (2 Jn. 8)
Thus does Hebrews agree with the rest of the New Testament about the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sparks wrote a small volume called God Hath Spoken in which he sets forth his view<\/p>\n\n\n\n
unusual grasp of the deeper issues under the surface of Scripture. He had a deep
understanding of the cross in the work of God beyond its provision for our
forgiveness for sin. I suppose his favorite word after “Christ” or “the Lord Jesus”
would be “the cross,” and next would be “fullness.” He had a keen perception of
the desire of God that we all come to fullness in Christ and of the place of the cross
in that work. He constantly wrote of realizing God’s full thought. He points out in
the book that Hebrews deals not just with enduring to the end, getting there by
the skin of our teeth, but with growing toward fullness in Christ now, in this life.
That is what I mean by going on with the Lord and walking in victory. I will be
pointing out some of what this dear brother wrote as we continue in Hebrews.
6But someone testified somewhere saying, “What is man that you are mindful of
him, or the son of man that you visit him? 7You made him a little lower than
angels. With glory and honor you crowned him. 8You subjected all things under
his feet.” [Ps. 8.5-7 LXX. The words, \u201cYou make him to have dominion over the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old Testament, called the Septuagint, abbreviated LXX, nor in the quotation here
in Hebrews.] For in subjecting all things to him he left nothing not subjected to
him. But now we do not yet see all things having been subjected to him,
Vs. 5-8 of Heb. 2 deal with one of the things that God has spoken. God’s
word tells us that the Lord Jesus is the one he has chosen to be King and that God
has subjected all things to him. This is the theme of these verses, the subjection of
all things to him. One of the ideas of chapter 1, the superiority of Christ to angels,
is reiterated in v. 5 when we are told that it was not to angels that God subjected
the inhabited earth to come. Then he quotes Ps. 8 to reveal that it is the Lord Jesus
to whom he subjected all things. Ps. 8.3-8 was originally written from David’s
viewpoint about man in general, not about the Lord Jesus. It expresses David’s
wonder that the majestic God who created the universe takes any thought of man.
Beyond that wonder is the thought that not only does God think about man and
care for him, be he made him a little lower than angels, crowned him with glory
and honor, and gave him dominion over the works of his hands. This last
statement refers to Gen. 1.26 and 28. This is the plan that God had for man when
he created him. We saw in chapter 1 that God’s eternal purpose is to give
everything to his Son and to provide him with a companion to rule with him. One
means of training that bride for the throne is the experience of ruling over the
works of his hands.
The problem is that man fell into sin and did not fulfill the purpose that
God designed for him. Man does indeed rule over the works of God’s hands to
some extent, but it is limited and it is cursed by the fall. Man cannot control
everything. Despite all his advances in science and technology, man can do
nothing about the weather or about natural disasters. The fallen world can express
great fury and man can do nothing about it. His rulership is incomplete because
of the fall.
In addition, man makes a mess of what dominion he does have. Just look at
what man has done to the world. Politically he has divided it into warring camps.
Ecologically he has polluted and eroded and denuded parts of it. Economically he
has created a system in which some have more than they could use in a thousand
lifetimes while others starve. A child dies every six seconds as you read these
words, most from starvation and malnutrition or easily prevented or treated
diseases. We could go on. The point is that man has failed to exercise the dominion
given him by God in accordance with God’s will. He has taken what dominion
was not lost through the fall and used it for selfish purposes. His stewardship of
the creation has aided the curse that came with the fall. Much good has been done,
too, in developing resources, in increasing the productivity in the raising of food<\/p>\n\n\n\n
negative.
This is where the Lord Jesus comes in. We saw that Ps. 8 was originally
written about man in general. Hebrews takes the psalm and applies it to the Lord
Jesus, showing that he is the one who lives up to what God intended for man to
begin with. Not only is he our Savior. He is also the only man who lived fully as
God intended man to live. He never sinned. He exercised the dominion over the
creation that God gave to man in perfect submission to the will of God. His
dominion is seen throughout the gospels as he turns water into wine, stills storms
at sea, walks on the water, feeds thousands with a few loaves of bread. He never
used this dominion for selfish purposes. When Satan tempted him to make stones
into bread, he chose to go hungry instead because it was not the will of God. He
could have called down fire from the heavens on his enemies, but he went to the
cross in shame because it was the will of God. He is the perfect fulfillment of Ps. 8.
Where we failed to take our position a little below angels and exercise dominion
over the creation under the will of God, he did it perfectly.
It is important that we understand that the Lord Jesus did this as a man. His
humanity is one of the vital themes of Hebrews. For the Lord Jesus to have done
what he did as God would have been more than easy and would not have been
any encouragement to us, but he did it as a man. It was as a man that he exercised
dominion under the will of God, and because he did so, God has highly exalted
him. Heb. 2.8 puts it this way: “For in subjecting all things to him he left nothing
not subjected to him.” Everything is now subjected to the Lord Jesus. He has been
exalted to God’s right hand (Heb.1.3) and rules over everything. So we have man
made a little lower than the angels, then the Lord Jesus made a little lower than
the angels, then man in the person of the Lord Jesus exalted above angels (J.G.
Bellett, Musings on the Epistle to the Hebrews, pgs. 5-6). Man was made to have
dominion over the earth (Gen.1.26, 28) and we will reign with him in his kingdom,
the inhabited earth to come, and through eternity, if we endure and overcome (2
Tim. 2.12, Rev. 3.21, 5.10, 20.4, 6), as Hebrews exhorts us.
The Lord Jesus who became much better than the angels as a man was made
a little lower than the angels as a man before he was so exalted, and was so exalted
because he condescended to be made lower and to carry out the will of God as a
man.
Hebrews is quick to point out in this same verse, 2.8, that this rulership of
the Lord Jesus over everything does not appear to be the case as yet: “But now we
do not yet see all things subjected to him\u2026.” It appears that Satan rules in this
world, and he does under the authority and permission of God (Jn. 12.31, 2 Cor.
4.4). We see evil on every hand, war, oppression, drug abuse, crime, immorality,
human trafficking, humanism, and so on. It does not look as though the Lord Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the Lord Jesus reigns. Even though it appears that Satan rules, the truth is that God
is using Satan to train his people for rulership with the Lord Jesus. That one who
is at God’s right hand, who is destined to sit on the throne of the universe and to
have a bride reigning with him is using Satan now to train that bride. That is the
meaning of the temptations and hardships of life. God is using them to train his
people. The very devil who makes such a show of opposing God is nothing more
than a tool in his divine hands, used to build up those who will yield to God in
every circumstance. What a marvelous Lord we serve!
9but we see Jesus having been made a little lower than angels, having been
crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, that by the
grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Even though the Lord Jesus does reign, we do not see it yet with the
physical eye. What do we see? We “see Jesus made a little lower than angels,
crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, that by the grace
of God he might taste death for everyone.” The purpose of his having been made
a little lower than angels, that is, a man, was that he might die for our sins. Having
fully accomplished this mission in complete obedience to God, he has been
crowned with glory and honor. We have already quoted Phil. 2.8-11 on this truth.
The word order of this verse seems odd. It seems that the crowning with
glory and honor should come after his death. And why would the death be
mentioned both before and after the crowning? Why is it repeated? B. F. Westcott
points to Jn. 13.31 for the answer: “Therefore when he went out Jesus said, ‘Now is
the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.'” (B. F. Westcott, The Epistle
to the Hebrews, p. 46) He points out that when the Lord Jesus came to the time to
go to the cross, he saw it as glorification: “These things Jesus said, and lifting his
eyes to Heaven he said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son
may glorify you\u2026. And now glorify me, Father, with yourself with the glory that
I had with you before the world was.'” (Jn. 17.1 and 5) In what sense was the death
of our Lord a glorification? He came to this earth to live a sinless life and thus to
be a spotless Lamb, worthy to be sacrificed for our sins. He lived that sinless life.
Then his hour came. The other three gospels record that he said to Peter, James,
and John, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful to the point of death.” (Mk. 14.34)
Then he prayed that if possible this hour might pass him by, and said, “Abba
Father, all things are possible with you. Take this cup from me.” (Mk. 14.35-36) We
may tend to think that being the great Son of God, he took the cross in stride, but
no, he shrank from it. He was in agony. Luke even tells us that an angel came to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
drank the cup.
It was this final act of obedience that was the glorification of the Lord. He
had lived a sinless life. Now he came to what must have been his greatest hour of
temptation. He knew what to expect, and surely the anguish of having his Father
turn away from him must have outweighed even the physical suffering. I believe
that was literally a taste of hell, experienced for us. And he dismissed his spirit,
dying without sin. That final act of obedience sealed the sinless life that, laid down,
opened Heaven for us and finally doomed Satan. That was glory for the Lord
Jesus, perfect obedience. And for that reason he has been exalted high above all.
“But we see Jesus, crowned with glory and honor” as he reigned from the cross,
reigning over all that Satan could do to bring just that one tiny act of disobedience.
Anything would do, but no, there was nothing, nothing but perfect obedience.
Satan undone. Salvation secured. The glorified Lord “tasting death for everyone.”
And it was all by the gracious nature of God with no deserving on our part. We
are recipients of an unspeakable gift.
Saphir has a passage that sets forth thoughts about the death of the Lord
that goes beyond anything else I have seen. I quote at length:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
us, has endured. There are two expressions used \u2013 to suffer death, and to
taste death. Let us remember that between Jesus, as He was in Himself, and
death there subsisted no connection. He was conceived by the Holy [Spirit],
and born of the Virgin Mary. He was without sin, without spot and blemish.
He had never transgressed the law. In Him Satan could find nothing. Death
had no personal or direct relation to Him. Do we look upon death as being
the punishment of the transgression of the law? Christ fulfilled all
righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ, as far as His humanity was
concerned, was free from the power of death. No power could kill the Lord
Jesus Christ. \u201cNo man taketh my life from me; but I lay it down of myself.\u201d
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Life, of His own power and will, laid
down His life. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ in this respect is different
from the death of any human being; it was the free, voluntary, spontaneous
act and energy of His will. When the Lord Jesus Christ died He put forth a
great energy. He willed to die. And so in one sense we may say that His
death was a great manifestation of His power.
Let us consider that the Lord tasted death. A man may die in a
moment, and then he does not taste death. John the Baptist was beheaded;
it was in the twinkling of an eye that the severance took place between body
and spirit. Men may die in a moment of excitement, and, as extremes meet,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
courage, as many a warrior; but that is not tasting death. The death of our
Lord Jesus Christ was a slow and painful death; He was \u201croasted with fire,\u201d
as was prefigured by the Paschal Lamb. But it was not merely that it lasted
a considerable time, that it was attended with agony of mind as well as pain
of body; but that He came, as no other finite creature can come, into contact
with death. He tasted death; all that was in death was concentrated in that
cup which the Lord Jesus Christ emptied in the cross. During His lifetime
He felt a burden, sorrow, grief; He saw the sins and sorrows of the people;
He had compassion, and wept. In the garden of Gethsemane He realized
what was the cup which He would have to drink upon Golgotha. He was
in great agony, not instead of us, but because He shrank from that
impending substitution on the accursed tree. There is no substitution and
expiation in the garden \u2013 the anticipation of the substitution was the cause
of His agony; but on the cross He paid the penalty for the sins of men in His
own death. But what was it that He tasted in death? Death is the curse
which sin brings, the penalty of the broken law, the manifestation of the
power of the devil, the expression of the wrath of God; and in all these
aspects the Lord Jesus Christ came into contact with death, and tasted it to
the very last. He tasted it as the consequence of sin, though He knew no sin
in Himself personally; but He, as the perfect, pure, and spotless Son of God,
and Son of man, had an infinite appreciation of the evil of sin in its
loathsomeness, in its cruelty, in its apostasy from God, in its contrariety to
the will of the Holy One. He saw the true nature of sin Godwards and
manwards; upwards to the throne of holiness, and downwards to the
bottomless abyss; in its depths, and in its everlasting consequences, did He
perceive it. We do not see the real consequences of sin, not knowing the
exceeding sinfulness of sin. We find it difficult to realize that such awful
infinite results should come from it; but He saw sin in all its mystery, in all
its reality\u2026.
And last of all, and most fearful of all, it was the expression of the wrath of
God. The just displeasure and indignation of God against sin makes itself
felt in death. Death is being forsaken by God; it is the expression of the
withdrawal of God\u2019s favour and strength. Death is to be left without God.
The Lord Jesus Christ came into contact with death as the wrath of God. He
tasted death with full and perfect consciousness. Therefore He said \u2026, \u201cMy
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?\u201d (I, 128-132)
The Lord Jesus lived as a man in complete submission to the will of God,
the way God intended man to live when he created him. He was so obedient that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By this perfect life, including his death as the will of God, he earned the rulership
of the universe. Just as we are trained in this life for our position in the next, so
was he. He lived a perfect life, the only one ever to do so, and thus he has had all
things subjected to him. He was faithful over few things and has been made ruler
over many, indeed, all. This is the Lord Jesus we serve, the one to whom all things
have been subjected because he subjected himself perfectly to God. May we
ourselves learn such submission.
10For it was fitting for him, because of whom are all things and through whom
are all things, having brought many sons to glory, to mature the originator of
their salvation through sufferings.
Vs. 10-18 of Heb. 2 deal with the human sufferings of the Lord Jesus, and v.
10 says that he was matured through the things he suffered. Many translations of
this verse say that he was made perfect. As Christians we believe that the Lord
Jesus is and always has been perfect, so it may come as a surprise for some to read
that he was made perfect. The same Greek word can be translated either “made
perfect” or “matured.” I think the answer comes when we realize that we are
dealing with the humanity of the Lord. He voluntarily submitted to being matured
as a man, just as we must be, when he left Heaven for his years on this earth in the
flesh.
An understanding of the Jewish sacrificial system in the Old Testament will
help us to grasp this truth. Lev. 1-7 describes this system, and we learn from those
chapters that there were five types of sacrifice. There were the whole burnt
offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the peace offering, and the trespass
offering. Each of these had a symbolic or typical meaning, and we as Christians
believe they had their perfect fulfillment in the Lord Jesus. The grain offering is
the one that helps us to understand Heb. 2.10. Before we consider it, let us briefly
outline the other four.
In the whole burn offering, the entire animal was burned on the altar. Thus
it is a symbol of complete devotion to God, with everything on the altar and
nothing held back. It pictures total obedience to the will of God. The peace offering
symbolized fellowship. Only a token portion was burned on the altar, and the rest
was eaten together by the offerers. It was as though God were eating the portion
burned before him and the others were eating the rest, thus enjoying a fellowship
meal together. The sin offering was designed to deal with sin and make
forgiveness possible. The trespass offering also dealt with sin, but its emphasis was
not on the forgiveness of sin, but on making restitution for the injury done by sin.
It is easy to see how all of these types were fulfilled in our Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
consideration. This offering consisted of fine flour with oil and frankincense
poured onto it. The priest took a handful of flour and oil, with all of the
frankincense, and burned that portion before the Lord. What is the meaning of this
symbolism?
Grain is the fruit of man’s labors and the sustenance of his body. The
offering of it by a Jew was his recognition that God had blessed him with a harvest
and his thanksgiving to God for that blessing. In addition, oil symbolizes the Holy
Spirit in the Scriptures, and frankincense pictures those qualities of Christ that are
pleasing to his Father. Remember that God said that the Lord Jesus was his
beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. We see in Eph. 5.2 that Christ was “an
offering and sacrifice to God of a smell of fragrance” (see also 2 Cor. 2.15). God was
just delighted with his Son. The smell of his sacrifice was a pleasant aroma to him.
Such was the grain offering.
How are these symbols fulfilled in the Lord Jesus? As the fruit of man’s
labor grain pictures humanity. Thus this offering is a type of the humanity of the
Lord Jesus, humanity on which the Holy Spirit, the oil, has been poured and which
is pleasing to God, the frankincense. This was the Lord Jesus indeed. He was fully
human, as we believe, but he was full of the Holy Spirit and he was well pleasing
to God. Now notice one further fact. The flour which was offered was fine flour. It
was not course flour. It was not cracked wheat. It was fine flour. Fine flour requires
a great deal of beating and pounding and grinding. Thus the fine flour of this
offering pictures for us the sufferings of the Lord Jesus as a man, not the sufferings
on the cross, but those that came before the cross. Heb. 2.10 is of great interest in
this regard.
The answer to our question about the Lord being perfected is that he was
not so much perfected, being perfect already, but matured as a boy and a man (Lk.
2.40, 51-52). He was born fully human, just as you and I were. He was fully God,
but he chose to become a man and taste the full range of human experience, sin
excepted (though he did taste sin on the cross). Just as you and I suffer trials and
develop character and maturity through them, so did the Lord Jesus. He did not
exempt himself from the sufferings of mankind. He had experiences of suffering
and in those experiences he turned to his Father and thus found them a means of
growing in character, in relationship to God, in spiritual maturity, and in
psychological development. He suffered temptation, but always obeyed God, thus
building up a history of obedience that resulted in his unswerving devotion to
God’s will at the cross.
The Lord Jesus suffered all the grinding that life subjects us humans to, and
because he stayed true to God in it all, he became fine flour. He became such fine
flour, so full of devotion to God as a man, that he was able to be filled with the Holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
offering. He was a human being who fully experienced all the sufferings of life,
and by those sufferings was ground into fine flour, a pleasure to God and food for
the people of God. He is the Bread of life. He was matured through the things he
suffered. He was fine flour, full of the Holy Spirit, a delight to his Father.
This verse also states that God is also bringing many sons to glory. We just
commented on the fact that the Lord Jesus is a delight to his Father, such a delight,
in fact, that he wants many more just like him. Not just like him in the cookie cutter
sense as though we were cloned, but in the sense that we are being conformed to
his image (Rom. 8.29), we are being transformed into the same image (2 Cor. 3.18),
we are having Christ formed in us (Gal. 4.19) – in us as us. He made all of us
individuals with different personalities, gifts, idiosyncrasies, and so forth. No two
of us are exactly alike. Christ formed in you can come through you as he can in no
other, and the same for me. Why do we have four gospels? Why are they not all
identical? Because the Lord wanted us to see the good news through Matthew’s
eyes and mind and heart, and through Mark’s, and through Luke’s, and through
John’s. All four are God-breathed, but they take something of the forms of these
four men. They were not clones, but different men inspired by God.
What comfort we can take in the knowledge that our precious Lord Jesus
walked the same roads we do in life and came to maturity through the same
difficulties as those we face, that he who was always well pleasing to his Father
from eternity became well pleasing as a man. He came to glory, both at the cross
and at his ascension to the throne, and he is working in you and me to make us
many sons brought into glory. Oh praise his wonderful name!
Just what does it mean to bring many sons to glory? Remember that
Hebrews is about the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus, “the inhabited earth to
come, concerning which we speak.” It is an exhortation to us to go on with the
Lord to the end and thus to come into our inheritance in his kingdom, into glory
with him.
In the Introduction we dealt with the fact that Hebrews is an exhortation to
go on with the Lord to the end, growing in him and having him formed within.
This is the way by which we are brought to glory. In dealing with this phrase,
\u201cbringing many sons to glory,\u201d Lang has an excellent paragraph, which I quote
here:
The burden of Hebrews is not the rescuing of sinners from hell, nor even the
blessing of children in the vast family circle, but it is the bringing of sons unto
glory. Of old Israel did not reach the enjoyment of being God\u2019s son, His
firstborn son and heir (Ex. 4.22). In this Christians may also fail. In essence
this teaching and warning are continued to the end of the Word of God, for<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of the time and scene of glory, \u201cHe that overcometh shall inherit these things;
and I will be God to him, and he shall be to Me son\u201d (Rev. 21.7). This is
something greatly greater than the blessing of the water of life promised
immediately before to the thirsty (ver. 6). This latter is the initial gift of
grace, the former is the final fruition of grace. The one requires no more
than thirst and the faith to drink; the other demands faith that fights and
conquers. It is to this latter and indispensable matter of conquest that
Hebrews is directed. (58)
I like his word \u201cburden.\u201d This is the burden of Hebrews, and it is the burden
of God in inspiring this wonderful book. Notice that Lang puts the word \u201cinherit\u201d
in italics. The one who overcomes will inherit. Not all Christians will inherit in the
kingdom. It is those who overcome. Paul puts it this way: \u201cThe Spirit himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs
of God and fellow-heirs of Christ, if we suffer with him in order that we may also
be glorified with him.\u201d (Rom. 8.16-17) That little \u201cif\u201d is a BIG word! \u201cIn this
Christians may also fail.\u201d I exhort you, and myself, go on with the Lord. He wants
to bring you to glory! Fight and overcome, in him.
11For both the one sanctifying and those being sanctified are all from one, for
which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying, “I will proclaim
your name to my brothers; in the midst of the church I will praise you,” [Ps.
22.22] 13and again, \u201cI will put my trust in him,\u201d [2 Sam. 22.3 LXX, Is. 8.17 LXX]
and again, \u201cBehold, I and the children whom God gave me.\u201d [Is. 8.18 LXX]
This recognition of the human sufferings of the Lord Jesus emphasizes his
brotherhood with us. He did not, as God, exempt himself from our lot, but became
fully like us and experienced our sufferings for our sake. Heb. 2.11-13 draws out
this brotherhood of the Lord Jesus with us. We saw in Heb. 1.6 that the Lord Jesus
is God’s firstborn Son and that we are his brothers and sisters. That same point is
dealt with at more length in these verses. We are told that he is not ashamed to call
us brothers, and Old Testament Scriptures are quoted to show where this was
done, Ps. 22 and Is. 8. Ps. 22 particularly is a psalm that identifies the Lord Jesus
with humanity, for it is the psalm of his crucifixion. It begins with the cry he
uttered from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Then it
goes on to picture the agonies of crucifixion. Vs. 7-8 prophesy the mocking of him
by the Jewish officials. Vs. 14-15 show the physical suffering and thirst that come
with crucifixion. V. 16 says that his hands and feet were pierced. V. 18 predicts the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
speak of the resurrection.
The remarkable thing about this psalm is that it was written about one
thousand years before Christ, long before the Roman conquest of the Near East.
Apparently the Persians used crucifixion in the sixth or seventh century B.C. The
Romans began using it about the third century B.C. These dates are long after the
writing of Ps. 22, yet this psalm paints a graphic picture of the sufferings of the
cross. What a testimony to the truth of prophecy! And what a picture of the
identification of our Lord with us. He became a man like us, our brother, and
suffered as a human being for us. Well might we fall down in worship before this
one who accepts brotherhood with sinners such as we!
14Since then the children have shared in blood and flesh, he himself also in the
same way partook of them, that through death he might render powerless the
one having the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and set free those who in fear
of death through all their life were subject to slavery.
Vs. 14-15 of Heb. 2 go on to tell us that one specific reason the Lord Jesus
took on flesh and blood like ours was that he might render Satan powerless and
free us from the fear of death. God told Adam in Gen. 2.17 that if he disobeyed he
would die, and Rom. 6.23 says that the wages of sin are death. That is why people
fear death. They know they have sinned against God and are guilty. Men may
deny God and may deny their sins, but in their hearts they know there is a God
they must face and they know they are sinners, and thus they are afraid. Satan
capitalizes on this fear to keep people in the bondage of fear. They spend their
lives at a lower level than God intended, living in fear. They do horrible things in
hopes of appeasing God, things actually abominable to the God of the Bible.
The purpose of the coming of the Lord Jesus was to do something about the
wages of sin. It was to take away sins so that people could live without fear of
death, knowing that they had been made right with God and were thus free to live
life to the fullest without the ever-present shadow of fear, fear of death. The way
Hebrews puts it is that the Lord Jesus rendered Satan powerless. He did not
destroy him. Satan still operates, but he has no power. His means of working is
deception. He is the master liar of the universe, and if he can get people to believe
his lies, he might as well have power, for they do as he wishes. That is why it is so
important to know what God has spoken. We combat Satan’s lies with truth.
What has God spoken? Col 2.15 says that God disarmed the rulers and
authorities, that is, Satan and his forces, and disgraced them publicly, triumphing
over them in Christ. His public disgracing of Satan was not done in the physical
world. Indeed, as we have already seen, it appears that Satan rules the world, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spiritual realm. Every spirit being, angelic and demonic, knows that the Lord Jesus
has defeated Satan and disarmed him. It is only men who are blind to the truth.
The truth is that we Christians have complete victory in our Lord Jesus, for he has
defeated, disarmed, and rendered powerless the devil. This thought is further
expressed in 1 Jn. 3.8: “For this the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the
works of the devil.” What total victory we have in this one who became a brother
to men, that he might taste the death they face and thus free them from the fear of
death and from the one who had the power of death. This is our Brother, our Lord,
the man Jesus.
16For it is clear that he does not take hold of angels, but he takes hold of
Abraham\u2019s seed. 17Therefore he was obligated to be made like the brothers in
all things, that he might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews continues to stress this point, that the Lord Jesus was made like
us, saying in these verses that since it is not angels, but humans, that he takes hold
of, that is, helps, he had to be made like us to be a merciful and faithful High Priest
and make propitiation for our sins. The High Priestly work of the Lord Jesus is one
of the major themes of Hebrews and we will deal with it later on in this work. Just
as the Old Testament priests were human and came from the people, so our New
Testament High Priest must also be human. An important part of his priestly work
is to make propitiation. What is the meaning of this term?
At the root of the Greek word is the idea of mercy. It means to do something
so that God can have mercy on us and forgive our sins. God has been offended by
our sins and thus we are subject to his wrath. Something must be done about this
situation or we will suffer judgment. Propitiation is what is done. God’s wrath is
satisfied and we are forgiven. The thought is not that God is changed, but that we
are changed and thus put into a position where God can have mercy on us.
When we say that propitiation is what is done, what do we mean? We mean
that a sacrifice is offered for our sins that satisfies God. The idea of sacrifice is an
integral part of propitiation. There can be no propitiation, releasing of the mercy
of God, without sacrifice. As Heb. 9.22 puts it, “Without shedding of blood there
is no forgiveness.” In the Old Testament the priests offered animal sacrifices daily,
but these could not take away sins. They only covered them till a better sacrifice
should come. That better sacrifice is the Lord Jesus. He is himself both Priest and
Sacrifice. He is our propitiation. He is the sacrifice that took away our sins, thus
making the change in us that allows us to experience God’s mercy instead of his
judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
18.13, in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, where the tax collector
cries out, “God be propitious to me the sinner.” That is, God be merciful. The same
idea is present. We are sinners. Something must be done so that we can receive
mercy.
There are a couple of other writers that we should quote here on this matter
of propitiation, for they bring out well the ideas of mercy and God’s wrath and the
sacrifice that is necessary for there to be mercy. One of the major thoughts of
propitiation is that it is not that God is angry with us and is not disposed to have
mercy on us. The Bible is clear throughout that God loves us and wants to forgive
and save us. It was his idea to send the Lord Jesus while we were still sinners! The
question is as to how he can do so without violating his own holiness and
righteousness. He cannot just let sin go. It must be paid for. Hermann Cremer
writes that
the heathen believed the Deity to be naturally alienated in feeling from
man\u2026. The design of the propitiatory sacrifices and prayers that were offered was
to effect a change in this feeling\u2026. In the Bible the relation is a different one. God
is not of Himself already alienated from man. His sentiment, therefore, does not
need to be changed. But in order that He may not be necessitated to comport
Himself otherwise (to adopt a different course of action), that is, for righteousness’
sake, an expiation of sin is necessary (a substitutionary suffering of the
punishment\u2026); and, indeed, an expiation which He Himself and His love institute
and give; whereas man, exposed as he is to God’s wrath, could neither venture nor
find an expiation. Through the institution of the expiation, God’s love anticipates
and meets his righteousness. Through the accomplishment of the expiation man
escapes the revelation of God’s wrath, and remains in the covenant of grace.
Nothing happens to God, as in the case of the heathen view; therefore we never
read in the Bible [“to propitiate God”]. Rather something happens to man, who
escapes the wrath to come. (Emphasis Cremer’s)
(Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, p. 302-303.)
Richard Trench writes that
\u2026the essential notion of [propitiation is that] goodwill has been
gained by some offering or other means of appeasing\u2026. Not only does
Christ propitiate\u2026, but he both propitiates and is himself the propitiation.
In the language of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in offering himself he is both
[High Priest] and [sacrifice] or [offering]. The two functions of priest and
sacrifice (which were of necessity divided in the typical sacrifices of the law)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
whom the just anger of God against our sins was appeased. Without
compromising his righteousness, God was enabled to show himself
propitious to us once more.
(Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, ed. Robert G. Hoerber,
p. 308.)
This concept of propitiation is a rich biblical thought. The word we have
just looked at is the Greek verb, but there are also two nouns that express the same
idea. Both occur only twice, one in 1 Jn. 2.2 and 4.10. The statement in both of these
verses is that the Lord Jesus not only makes propitiation, but is himself our
propitiation. This Greek noun implies the doing of what is necessary to make
propitiation. It concentrated on the sacrifice itself.
The other word appears in Rom. 3.25 and Heb. 9.5. Before we look at those
verses, it will help to turn to the Old Testament. In Ex. 25 God commanded Moses
to build the Tabernacle and to furnish it with certain items. One of those items was
the Ark, a wooden box overlaid with gold and containing the two tables of the
law, the golden jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. This Ark was the
symbol of God’s presence with Israel. Ex. 25.17 tells us that over the Ark was “a
mercy seat of pure gold.” This mercy seat was a covering for the Ark. Indeed, the
Hebrew root of mercy seat is “cover.” The idea is that this seat is the throne of God
in the midst of Israel, and that it is a throne of mercy.
The fact that it is a throne of mercy is seen in Lev. 1.4. We have already
alluded to these chapters of Leviticus where the sacrificial system was given. Lev.
1.4 says, in describing the whole burn offering, “And he shall lay his hand upon
the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement
for him.” This word “atonement” is the key. In Hebrew the word for “atone”
actually means “to cover,” and it is the same root as that of “mercy seat” in Ex. 25.17.
The mercy seat is not only a covering for the Ark. It is also a place of mercy where
our sins are covered. The sacrifices in Leviticus covered the sins of the people of
Israel so that they escaped God’s judgment. That is the whole concept. Their sins
were covered.
Rom. 3.25 uses this word “mercy seat” of the Lord Jesus, “whom God
showed openly as a mercy seat.” We might also translate, “whom God showed
openly as a propitiation.” The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the mercy seat of Ex.
25.17. He is himself the place of mercy where our sins are no longer just covered,
but taken away. He is the fulfillment of the Levitical sacrificial system, again not
just covering, but taking away our sins. He is the place of propitiation.
The final use of this word is in Heb. 9.5, where the Old Testament
Tabernacle is described and Hebrews refers to the mercy seat. The word there for<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rom. 3.25. He is our mercy seat. There we find the forgiveness of sins that makes
us right with God and therefore able to receive his mercy in place of judgment. He
is our propitiation, our mercy seat.
Hebrews closes these thoughts about the human sufferings of the Lord
Jesus with a wonderful statement that needs little comment:
18For in that he himself has suffered having been tempted, he is able to help
those being tempted.
Again, he is one of us. He is our Brother, our Priest, our Sacrifice, our
Helper, our Propitiation. He knows what we go through because he took on flesh
and went through it. Thus he is able to offer us not platitudes, but real help when
we are tempted. We may turn to him as a merciful and faithful High Priest.
There is one issue in this verse that we must look at. The Greek can be
translated one of two ways:
(1) For in that he himself has suffered having been tempted, he is able to help
those being tempted. This is the translation I have done above. The meaning is
that the Lord Jesus suffered in undergoing temptation. The temptation was the
cause of the suffering.
(2) For he himself having been tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able
to help those being tempted. The meaning is that the suffering caused the
temptation, that is, to give up the fight. That was the specific temptation that the
readers of Hebrews were facing. Their sufferings in trying to endure with the Lord
were tempting them to give up and go back to Judaism.
It is obvious that either choice is possible, both linguistically and biblically.
Eminent Greek scholars can be found on both sides of the issue. The way I have
translated above seems more natural to me from the Greek word order, but the
other is more in line with the exhortation of Hebrews to go on with the Lord to the
end. It could be correct, or perhaps the Lord even intended for both possibilities
to be true in this case. Whichever way you prefer, the truth of Scripture is not
affected. The Lord Jesus has been where we are, and because of it, he is able to help
us. Blessed be his Name!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 3.1-4.13<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling,
Hebrews begins this passage by calling its readers “holy brothers.” We need
not spend a great deal of time on this term. Most Christians are familiar with the
word “holy” in the Bible. Holiness begins with God. He is the only holy one. “Holy”
means “different” or “unique.” There is no one else like God. No one else is
anywhere near even beginning to be a little like God. He is utterly unique, different
from anything and anyone else, and the difference between him and anything or
anyone else is infinite, that is, having no end. But he tells us to be holy (Lev. 11.44,
19.2, 1 Pt. 1.16). The primary meaning of “holy” as it applies to us is “set apart,” that
is, for God. We are to be a people for his possession (Ex. 19.5, Dt. 4.20, 7.6, 14.2,
26.18, Ps. 135.4, Ti. 2.14, 1 Pt. 2.9). But we are also to be different, different from the
world (see 2 Cor. 6.14-18). That means we are to live godly lives. We are thankful
that Christ lives in us and is our very life. We must be surrendered to him, but the
job of producing holy living in us is the Lord’s. He is able to bring it about as we
trust and obey.
Then Hebrews says that we are partakers of a heavenly calling. This is one
of the keys to Hebrews. Everything in Judaism was earthly and material. It had to
with a Tabernacle, then a Temple, with animal sacrifices, with priests wearing
special clothing, with annual festivals. In addition, the Holy Land was everything.
Ultimately worship was only in Jerusalem, at the Temple. Each family of the Jews
had a portion of the land as his abiding inheritance. We saw above that if one
became so poor that he had to sell his inheritance, he or a near kinsman had the
right to redeem it, buy it back, at any time, and if he could not buy it back by the
time the year of Jubilee came around, every fiftieth year, it reverted to him at that
time.
The earthly nature of Judaism is seen in the Lord’s meeting with Nicodemus
in Jn. 3. Nicodemus was a teacher in Israel, yet he had no concept of spiritual<\/p>\n\n\n\n
enter the womb and be born again? It is seen in the Pharisees’ inability to see that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sabbath. They would pull their ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, but the Lord Jesus
could not pull a fellow Jew out of a ditch of sickness on the Sabbath. Somehow the
idea of the spiritual escaped the Jews.
This may have been a part of the problem of Hebrews’ Jewish readers.
Perhaps they were so tied to the material aspect of Judaism that when there began
to be a separation between Judaism and Christianity, and Christianity was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the earthly things. Little did they know that all that would be wiped out by the
Romans in a very few years, if Hebrews was written just a few years before the
destruction of the Temple and its sacrificial system in A.D. 70, as is thought by
most students of the epistle.
Christianity is entirely heavenly and spiritual. Hebrews tells us here in 3.1
that we are partakers of a heavenly calling. We have tasted of the heavenly gift
(6.4), that is, the Holy Spirit. Our High Priest is in the heavens, not on earth (8.1).
The earthly Tabernacle and its furnishings were not the true Tabernacle and
furnishings, but only a copy of the heavenly ones (8.5). We read in 9.22-24,
And almost all things are purified with blood according to the law, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It is a necessity, therefore,
for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified by these, but the heavenly
things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter into
a holy of holies made with hands, the antitype of the true, but into Heaven itself,
now to appear to the face of God for us\u2026.
We are told in 11.10 that Abraham was looking “for the city which has
foundations, whose designer and builder is God,” that is, the heavenly city. And
vs. 13-16 of this eleventh chapter say that these Old Testament examples of true
faith all died in faith, not receiving the promises, but they kept pursuing them until
the end as they desired a better country, a heavenly one. Finally, 12.18-24 speaks
of the heavenly nature of what we have come to as Christians:
For you have not come to that which can be touched and which burned
with fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the sound of a
trumpet and a voice of words, of which those who heard asked that no
further word be added to them, for they could not bear what was
commanded, “And if even an animal touches the mountain, it will be
stoned.” And so fearful was what appeared, Moses said, “I am terrified and
trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living
God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal assembly, and
to the church of the firstborn enrolled in the heavens, and to God the Judge
of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to the Mediator
of a new covenant, Jesus, and to sprinkled blood that speaks better than that
of Abel.
We have not come to that which can be touched. We have come to the
heavenly Jerusalem, that city for which the Old Testament faithful looked from<\/p>\n\n\n\n
clothing and programs. It is about one thing and one thing only: the Lord Jesus
Christ and his life in us, individually and corporately, by his Spirit. He is the
measure of everything. The question is not as to how much money we have to
spend on great buildings and all that, or how much activity we have. The question
is, How much of Christ do we have? Nothing else matters.
We noted in the Introduction that Austin-Sparks points out in Companions
of Christ and the Heavenly Calling, p. 42, that the time in which Hebrews was written
and the shaking of Jerusalem and the temple was the time of \u201cthe transition from
an earthly, historic Israel to a heavenly, spiritual Israel.\u201d Those Jewish, or other,
Christians in danger of turning from Christ back to Judaism or something else, are
being called to be a heavenly, spiritual people and are exhorted to continue on that
path.
Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus,
We are partakers of a heavenly calling. As such we are called to consider
the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. In Volume 5 of his series, Seeing
Christ In\u2026, Brother Stephen Kaung highlights this verse as central to Hebrews. I
also recommend that book, and the series, highly. An apostle is one who is sent.
That is the meaning of the Greek word. As a word, it is the same as “missionary,”
which comes from Latin instead of Greek and also means “one sent.” “Apostle” also
has additional meaning in regard to the men who, in Christ, were the founders
and leaders of the Christian faith in the beginning. The point is that the Lord Jesus
was sent by God to this earth to reveal God and his plans more fully, to teach and
preach, to give his life for our salvation and the reclaiming of what is rightfully
God’s, but was usurped by Satan, and to lay the foundation of God’s spiritual and
heavenly people, the church. He accomplished the will of God fully and after his
death was raised from the dead and ascended to Heaven, where he sits at the right
hand of God (Heb. 1.3), exalted to the highest place.
In addition, he is our High Priest. As pointed out earlier, we will deal with
this aspect of our Lord’s work more fully later. Bro. Kaung writes that as High
Priest, the Lord Jesus dealt, and deals, with sacrifice, intercession, and presenting
gifts to God. His sacrifice of himself dealt with our sins and our old man. He
intercedes for us now (Rom. 8.34, Heb. 7.25). He adds his merits to our weak efforts
to pray and worship and serve and thus makes them gifts acceptable to the Father.
2
the one being faithful to the one having appointed him as also Moses was in
all his house. 3For this one has been considered worthy of more glory than
Moses by as much as the one having prepared it has more honor than the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
is God. 5And Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of
the things to be spoken, 6but Christ as a Son over his house,
Now we return to the theme of the superiority of Christ, going through v.
6a. These verses show the superiority of the Lord Jesus to Moses. The Lord was,
and is, faithful to God, who appointed him Apostle and High Priest, as Moses was
faithful in all God’s house. Like Moses the Lord had a calling from God. Like Moses
he was faithful in that calling. Faithfulness is of great value to God. It is a holding
to the purpose of God no matter what, and both the Lord Jesus and Moses
displayed this quality.
Lang makes a most excellent statement in this regard:
The supreme feature of Moses and of Christ in these offices [Apostle
and High Priest, Heb. 3.1] was fidelity. God laid on Moses extraordinary
responsibilities and burdens. No other man ever undertook so severe a task.
But God had reared him in Egypt and disciplined and tempered him in the
desert. In the royal palace he had learned to govern men, in the desert to
govern himself. The former developed strength and confidence, the latter
weakness and dependence. The benefit of the earlier years remained,
sanctified and safeguarded by humility gained in the desert, and he was
found faithful in all God’s affairs.
Jesus, the man, is also faithful. From eternity dwelling in the eternal
glory of God, the Doer of all the works of God, the Ruler of all creation, He
learned by experience on earth what it is to obey and to suffer. He was
tested at all points by all means, and was proved faithful in all things. (66)
The Lord Jesus, however, has been counted of more glory than Moses.
Why? In order to answer that question, let us look at this man Moses for a bit.
Moses was a very great man. After over thirty-five hundred years of Jewish
history, he is still regarded by the Jews as their greatest man. He led them out of
Egypt and to the Promised Land. He gave them the law. He counseled, judged,
and provided for the nation during all the years in the wilderness. What a burden
he bore, and what ability it took to bear it.
Moses was great in terms of this world. He was adopted by the daughter of
Pharaoh and raised as her son. Thus he was highly educated. In his defense before
the Sanhedrin before his stoning, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, said of Moses,
“And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty
in his words and deeds.” (Acts 7.22) What a capable man he was. With his ability,
training, and contacts, he could have been one of the great men of Egypt, and could<\/p>\n\n\n\n
was truly one of the greats. I personally think he was the greatest man who has
ever lived, the Lord Jesus excepted, and he, the Lord, was the only man who ever
lived who was what God intended man to be. He is a normal human. We are all
subnormal.
Moses was also great spiritually. There is a remarkable Old Testament
passage referred to in Heb. 3.2 and 5 and Num. 12. In that chapter we are told of
the complaining of Miriam and Aaron against Moses. They asked, “Has I AM
indeed spoken only by Moses? Has he not spoken also by us?” The next statement
is, “And the Lord heard it.” Uh oh! Then there is one of the great statements of the
Bible in Num. 12.3: “Now the man Moses was very humble, above all the men who
were on the face of the earth.” This is the secret of the greatness of Moses
spiritually. As great as he was in natural ability and learning, he was a man who
had been dealt with by God and had been made humble. He was the man who
was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, yet spent forty years tending
sheep on the back side of the desert. What a dealing of God with him that must
have been! How difficult it must have been for a man of such ability and
opportunity to do such a menial task in such obscurity. And they were not even
his sheep! God indeed touched his flesh and brought him to the place where he
knew himself before God. Despite all his ability and learning, he had great
humility, for he had touched the Lord and knew himself to be nothing before him.
And what does God say about this man of great ability? He called Moses
and Aaron and Miriam to the Tabernacle and then spoke to Aaron and Miriam,
saying,
Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I, I AM, will make
myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. With him I will
speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches, and the
form of I AM he will see. Why then were you not afraid to speak against
my servant Moses?
Then Miriam was stricken with leprosy as a judgment, from which she was
subsequently healed through the prayer of Aaron and Moses. The point is the
remarkable relationship between God and Moses. A prophet is a very great man,
and Paul even tells us in 1 Cor. 14 that prophecy is the most desirable of all
spiritual gifts, but God says that Moses is greater than a prophet. A prophet hears
from God in dreams and visions. Moses heard from God face to face, and beheld
the very form of God! Why? Because he was a humble man, and because he was
faithful in all God’s house. What a great man spiritually Moses was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several Greek words for “servant” used in the New Testament. The one
used here occurs in the New Testament only in this verse. There were many slaves
in that day, but the word used here indicates voluntary service. Thus the
faithfulness of Moses is further esteemed. He did what he did not out of
compulsion, but willingly. And yet as great as his faithfulness was because it was
voluntary, it was faithfulness as a servant.
This brings us to the superiority of the Lord Jesus. Moses was faithful in all
God’s house, but the Lord Jesus was deemed worthy of more glory than Moses by
as much as the builder of a house is due more honor than the house. That is, the
Lord Jesus is the Creator of Moses. As great a man as Moses was, the Lord was
able to make such a great man. Where does that put the Lord Jesus? As high above
Moses as a builder is above the house he builds. In this case the difference is
infinite. That is one aspect of his superiority.
The second aspect of the superiority of the Lord Jesus to Moses was the fact
that Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, but the Lord Jesus was
faithful as a Son. No matter how many servants a man may have, and no matter
how good they may be, he will always hold his son in a special place. There is the
family tie. He may value his servants highly, but he loves his son. So it is with God.
We have seen that God’s eternal purpose is to give everything to his Son, and for
his Son to have a companion to reign with him. He delights in his Son. As great as
Moses was, as faithful a servant as he was, he was still a servant. The Lord Jesus is
a Son. He is God’s Heir. All God’s eternal plans are focused on him. Like Moses,
he is faithful in all God’s house, but he is faithful as the delight of God, as his Son.
So he is superior to Moses.
In addition, Moses was faithful in God’s house. The Lord Jesus was, and is,
faithful over God’s house. When Christ is exalted to the throne, he takes what is
rightfully his as God’s Heir (Bellett, p. 12). We are the spiritual house of God, with
the Lord Jesus as the Head over the house. There are several metaphors used to
describe the church, field, building, body, bride, wife. Here it is seen as the
dwelling place of God. We will see more of this matter of the house of God as we
continue with v. 6.
Thus we see that not only is the Lord Jesus superior to angels. He is also
superior to Moses. If that is true, then it follows that Christianity is superior to
Judaism. Judaism is the shadow. Christianity is the reality. Moses prefigured the
way. The Lord Jesus is the way.
Warning and Exhortation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the hope.
We come now to v. 6b and the second use of the word “if.” This is a matter
of great importance. In the Old Testament we have the Tabernacle and then the
Temple, which were seen as the house of God, and in fact, the Hebrew word
translated “temple” is very often just the word “house.” The truth, of course, is that
this tent and then this building were symbolic of God’s presence among his people.
Not that he wasn’t actually there, but he fills the universe. No house made by men
could hold him. Stephen brings out this truth in Acts 7.47-50 at his defense before
his martyrdom when he says, quoting Is. 66.1-2,
But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not dwell in
houses made by hands. As the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, but the earth,
the footstool of my feet. ‘What kind of house will you build for me,’ says the Lord,
‘or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?'”
We have seen that Christianity is not material as Judaism was, but entirely
heavenly and spiritual. Thus the dwelling place of God must also be spiritual. Of
course, it is literally spiritual in the sense that he dwells in Heaven, but the New
Testament brings out another truth in this regard. Paul writes in Eph. 2.19-22,
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone,in whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into
a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a
dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Italics mine)
Paul reveals that the house of God in this New Covenant under which we live is
his people. It is a spiritual house, made up of all his born again children. Peter adds
his thought to what Paul writes: “Coming to him, a Living Stone, by men rejected,
but with God, chosen, precious, you also as living stones are being built a spiritual
house, for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.” (1 Pt. 2.4-5) How apt a statement from Peter, the Simon who was
renamed Peter, a rock! He knew what it was to become a stone.
We see the end, or perhaps we should say the beginning, of this in Rev. 21.3:
“And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God
with men, and he will tabernacle with them, and they will be his people and God
himself will be with them\u2026.'” God has no desire to dwell in a building. He wants<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a building a church. It is not a church. It is a building. The church is the people of
God. When I hear someone say at a church service, Welcome to the house of God,
I want to jump up and shout, This is not the house of God. It is a building. We are
the house of God. We are the church.
Now the writer of Hebrews says that we are the house of God “IF we hold
fast the assurance and the boasting of the hope.” If we are to be a house in which
God is pleased to dwell, we must hold fast our assurance, our assurance that Christ
is the Messiah and that he does surpass Judaism and that he is our hope, now and
eternally. If we give up our assurance and hope in him, he may withdraw. This
does not mean that we will lose our salvation, but that we will fall short of what
God desires for us and suffer loss in “the inhabited earth to come,” the millennial
kingdom. Perhaps the clearest example of this fact in Scripture is found in Rev.
3.20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the
door, I will enter in to him and I will dine with him and he with me.” These words
were spoken to a church, presumably saved people. There they are, with the Lord
on the outside, knocking to see if someone will let him in. And this church is
strongly reprimanded by the Lord. He says to them, “The one who overcomes, I
will give to him to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat with my
Father on his throne.” If anyone will overcome, “hold fast the assurance and the
boasting of the hope,” let the Lord in and dine with him, he will be rewarded in
the kingdom with sharing the throne with the Lord Jesus. The obvious implication
is that if he does not, he will suffer loss in the kingdom, not sharing in the Lord’s
throne.
This matter is vital.
7Therefore as the Holy Spirit says, \u201cToday if you should hear his voice, 8you
should not harden your hearts as in the provocation on the day of temptation in
the wilderness, 9where your fathers tempted me by testing me and saw my works
10for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation and said, \u2018They
always go astray in the heart, and they themselves did not know my ways.11As I
swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest.\u2019\u2019\u2019 [Ps. 95.7-11] 12Beware,
brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart of lack of faith
in stepping away from the living God, 13but encourage one another day by day
while it is called today, so that none of you might be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin.
Then comes a word that occurs often in Hebrews, “therefore.” Because of
what we have just learned about the superiority of the Lord Jesus and the
opportunity of being a part of the house in which he dwells, THEREFORE, it is<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that course for us beyond holding fast our assurance. We now turn to it, and we
see the second warning given by Hebrews.
The subject of this passage is rest, the rest that God has for his people. There
are three aspects to God’s rest for his people. The first is the rest of salvation. We
will deal with this rest briefly, pointing out here that this is not the rest that
Hebrews is dealing with in this passage. We need to explain this rest for the sake
of completeness and contrast. The Bible makes it so clear that we are not saved by
our works of righteousness, but through faith in Christ. Paul says it most plainly
in Eph. 2.8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of
you. It is God\u2019s gift, not of works, that no one may boast.” We do not save ourselves
by being good enough and deserving it. We are saved when we recognize that we
can never be good enough, but that Christ has finished the work of salvation, and
trust in him.
This is what Paul means in Col. 2.16-17, “Therefore do not let anyone judge
you in eating and drinking, nor in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath, which things are a shadow of what is to come, but the body is of Christ.”
All these things, eating, drinking, festivals, new moons Sabbaths, refer to Jewish
legal requirements. The Jews felt that if they kept these laws, they would be
righteous before God. Paul points out that no one is able to keep the law
sufficiently to be righteous before God, but that the law has been fulfilled in Christ.
He did keep the law perfectly, having never sinned. Thus his death is a sacrifice
capable of taking away sins and saving those who trust in him. So we who are in
Christ are free from the law. We are free from requirements, eating, drinking,
festivals, new moons, Sabbaths, in order to be saved. These things only point
ahead to something. That something is Christ, and now that he has come they are
no longer needed. Why major on the shadow when we have the body that cast the
shadow? To say that Christ is our Sabbath is to say this: the Sabbath is the rest (the
word means to cease from work), and to say that Christ is our Sabbath is to say
that he is our rest. We are not required to try to work for our salvation. We rest for
it. We rest in the finished work of Christ. Sabbath breaking is not working on a
certain day of the week. It is trying to earn salvation by good works. Keeping the
Sabbath is giving up the effort to earn salvation by works, by being good enough,
and resting in Christ. He is our Sabbath.
We have seen that the exhortation of Hebrews is that we go on with the
Lord Jesus both in our walk with him and to the end of our lives, or his return if
we should live to that point. The end of v. 6 says, “IF we hold fast the assurance
and the boasting of the hope.” Now vs. 7-8 tell us, quoting Ps. 95.7-11, that in order
to do that, we must heed the warning, “Today if you should hear his voice, do not
harden your hearts as in the provocation on the day of temptation in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
forty years.” Hebrews says that God has spoken, and it is itself a speaking of God
TODAY. Its readers are hearing the voice of God as they read the epistle or hear it
read. What is God saying? “[D]o not harden your hearts as in the provocation on
the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted me by testing
me and saw my works for forty years.” The reference is to Ex. 17, where Israel,
having just been delivered from the Egyptians by the miraculous crossing of the
Red Sea on dry land, came into the wilderness of Sin, where there was no water.
Instead of trusting the God who had just worked so wonderfully on their behalf,
they argued with Moses and asked why he had brought them up from Egypt to
die of thirst. The Lord provided water by having Moses strike the rock at Horeb,
but Moses named the place Massah and Meribah because of the behavior of Israel.
Massah means “test” and Meribah means “quarrel.” The people quarreled with
Moses and tested God, asking, “Is I AM among us or not?” The result of this and
other such expressions of doubt of the Lord’s provision was that he swore that
they would not enter his rest.
When we say no to God or resist his will or working in our hearts, we
harden our hearts. Then it becomes a bit harder to hear God (see 1 Kings 3.5-14
where Solomon asked God for a hearing heart – a heart that could hear God) and
a bit easier to keep saying no and resisting. If that course continues, it can result in
failure to enter God’s rest. Israel saw forty years of wandering in the wilderness
because of this continued course. Every one of them except Caleb and Joshua died
in the wilderness and never saw the Promised Land. The writer could add (except
that we do not add to Scripture, of course), “Consider yourself warned!”
Brother Austin-Sparks points out that Israel did not obey the Lord and go
on with him in faithfulness, but instead went back to Egypt in their hearts (Acts
7.39). Thus they failed to enter into his rest, the land of promise, and had to endure
forty years in the wilderness. (T. Austin-Sparks, The Kingdom That Cannot Be
Shaken. This work can be found at
http:\/\/www.austin-sparks.net\/English\/books\/002067\/html,
and is not in print as far as I know. There are no page numbers, but this thought is
in Chapter 4, the second paragraph under the heading “The Responsibility of the
Lord’s People.”)
The writer of Hebrews is using this example of Israel to exhort his readers
not to turn back, but to go on in their walk with the Lord into victory and to the
end. The only two in the generation of Israel who were delivered from Egypt that
entered the land of promise were Caleb and Joshua, the two who did not go back
to Egypt in their hearts, but had faith that Israel could conquer the land before the
long wilderness wandering that resulted from the rest of Israel fearing that they
could not win the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
will not be in any one of you an evil heart of lack of faith in stepping away from
the living God\u2026.\u201d Lack of faith is a sin (Rom. 14.23). In v. 8 the writer says not to
harden the heart, and now he says, \u201can evil heart of lack of faith.\u201d The people of
Israel did not trust God to care for them, and thus sinned, and the penalty of that
sin was failure to enter the Promised Land, God\u2019s rest. That evil, faithless heart can
lead to stepping away from God, exactly what the author of Hebrews is exhorting
each one of his readers not to do. The Greek word often translated \u201cfalling away\u201d
here is the verb form of \u201capostasy,\u201d but that Greek word actually means \u201cstanding
from,\u201d so we have translated \u201cstepping away.\u201d Falling away could be accidental.
Stepping away is deliberate. G. Campbell Morgan points out that apostasy is not
just stumbling, but \u201cdefinite, deliberate departure from God.\u201d (God\u2019s Last Word to
Man, p. 49) It all starts with the heart, and that is why Prov. 4.23 says, \u201cKeep your
heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life\u201d (surely alluded to by the
Lord Jesus in Mk. 7.14-23, a chapter in which he had already said, \u201c\u2026 their heart
is far from me,\u201d (v. 6).
Far from stepping away from God, the readers should \u201cencourage one
another day by day while it is called today, so that none of you will be hardened
by the deceitfulness of sin.\u201d The writer refers to Ps. 95 again in saying \u201ctoday\u201d:
\u201cToday if you should hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.\u201d It is always today
until the end comes, and we do not know when that day will be, so we must help
one another to remain faithful to the Lord now, as Moses was in all God\u2019s house,
and as the Lord Jesus was over God\u2019s house. Remember that the house of God is
his people. What we are about as the Lord\u2019s people is not just individual, but also
corporate, the body of Christ: \u201cencourage one another.\u201d Trying to make it on one\u2019s
own is difficult in a hard situation and can lead to the deceitfulness of sin, the sin
of lack of faith, stepping away from the living God.
Warning and Exhortation
14For we have become partakers of Christ, IF we should hold fast the beginning
of the assurance firm until the end, 15while it is said, \u201cToday if you should hear
his voice, you should not harden your hearts as in the provocation.\u201d 16For who
provoked him having heard? Was it not all those having come out of Egypt
through Moses? 17And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with
those having sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did
he swear not to enter into his rest if not to those having disobeyed? 19And we
see that they were not able to enter because of lack of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God, the writer says that “we have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast the
beginning of the assurance firm until the end.” We saw in dealing with our
inheritance under Heb. 2.5 that a part of our reward in the millennial kingdom is
a share in Christ. Just as the Israelites had a lot in the Promised Land, we have a
lot in our spiritual land, the Lord Jesus, and we see here that we have that lot IF
we hold fast. IF we go on to the end faithful to the Lord. Some might think that
this verse says that we can lose our salvation. It sounds a bit like it in making
partaking in Christ conditional on our going on to the end with him. I believe,
though, that salvation is a free gift that is not taken away, and that what Hebrews
means here is that partaking of Christ is the enjoyment of our inheritance in the
kingdom, and that inheritance, a reward, can be lost. The gift of salvation is not
lost, but the reward can be lost.
The writer then goes on to repeat his reference to Ps. 95: “Today if you
should hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation.” He keeps
stressing this point, showing emphatically its importance: Today! Today is vital.
We have no promise of tomorrow (or the next second, for that matter). We do not
know when we may die or when the Lord may come if we are alive at that time.
Waiting until tomorrow is hardening the heart, and we saw above what that can
lead to: falling away and losing our place in the kingdom. Do not provoke God!
Listen to him today, now!
Then we have another reference to the Israelites in Ex. 17: “For who
provoked him, having heard?” All who came out of Egypt with Moses. In New
Testament terms, these were saved people, having left Egypt (the world) and come
into Christ by crossing the Red Sea (the cross, as waters often picture death in
Scripture, such as baptism). Yet these saved people provoked God by lack of faith.
Instead of going on with the Lord, they wanted to go back to Egypt, back to
slavery.
And with whom was God angry for forty years? With those who sinned,
whose bodies fell in the wilderness. Again, these were saved people who had come
out of Egypt. What is the meaning of the wilderness in this line of thought we are
taking in seeing in the history of Israel a picture of Christian experience? Egypt is
the world, the lost condition, the Promised Land is the place of rest in the Lord,
and the wilderness is the place of wandering around in defeat that many if not
most Christians go through. It is possible for a Christian to die in the spiritual
wilderness and never come into what the Lord has for him in this life. He wants us
to know him intimately, to experience victory over the world, the flesh, and the
devil, our sins and our circumstances, to be effective in service to him. Yet so many
of us miss that wonderful experience. We will see in the next two verses and as we
go on in Hebrews the Lord’s way into that experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
here. They are disobedience and lack of faith. Let me say here that I deliberately
use the term “lack of faith” instead of “unbelief.” We have a problem in our day
that many seem to think that if they believe the correct doctrines, they are saved.
Without going into too much detail, let me just say that in the New Testament,
experience of the Lord came first and doctrine, the effort to explain the experience,
came later. This is not to disparage doctrine, for it has an important place in
keeping us on the right track, and there certainly is doctrine in the New Testament,
but at some point, as doctrine was developed, the cart started getting before the
horse. People who wanted to “join the church” (an impossibility: one can only be
born into it), were taught doctrine so that they would understand the Christian
faith, and eventually, and perhaps inevitably, sooner or later when a person had
learned all the doctrines and accepted them, he was told that he was a Christian.
And that has come down through history. The problem is that one is not saved by
believing doctrines, but by exercising faith in Christ. It is so easy for a person to
say that he believes in the Lord Jesus, meaning that he has mental acceptance of
the teaching about him, without understanding that belief and faith are not the
same thing.
Belief is intellectual. Faith is spiritual. There is belief, the intellectual side,
but faith is not just belief. It is belief and action based on the belief. That action is
not works (salvation by works), but the simple act of trusting in Christ for
salvation. Trust goes beyond belief. It is an act, the act of faith. I believe that there
is a very fine line between faith and works. Faith is not works, but if there are no
works, there is no faith. James says as much: “Faith without works is dead,” or we
might translate, “Belief without works is dead,” which I believe is more accurate.
Faith without works is not faith. James also says, “The demons believe, and they
tremble.” Why do they tremble? They believe the Bible from cover to cover, but
they know they are doomed. This is why I use “have faith,” or something similar,
instead of “believe.”
Having said that, let us look at vs. 18-19: “And to whom did he swear that
they would not enter into his rest if not to those who disobeyed? And we see that
they were not able to enter because of lack of faith.” What prevents us from
entering that rest? Hebrews answers this question in 3.12, 18, and 19, and 4.2, 6,
and 11. The things that prevent us from entering the rest that God has for us is lack
of faith and disobedience. These two words are related in Greek, both coming from
the same root. The basic idea of the word “disobedience” is “not convinced” (and
of the positive “obedience” is “convinced). That is, one acts on the basis of what he
is really convinced is true. The Israelites had seen the mighty hand of God in their
deliverance from Egypt and in other ways, but somehow they had not become
convinced that God would care for them. Thus every time the going got a little<\/p>\n\n\n\n
down they were not convinced and when they came to the test, their unbelief is
what came out. Obedience is based on belief. Disobedience is sometimes based on
unbelief, though many are willfully disobedient. If someone is really convinced
that God will take care of him, and he does not choose to reject God, but to respond
to him, his actions will be those of one faithful to God. If he is not, he will be
disobedient.
God is a truthful God. The Bible says that he cannot lie (Ti. 1.2, Heb. 6.18),
and there is no falsehood in him. Thus he requires belief on the part of man. I am
using the word “belief” here instead of “faith” to underline the matter of being
convinced. We do have to believe. It is just that faith goes beyond belief. You can
believe God and turn your back on him. But, believing God is the most
fundamental thing people do in relationship to God. To believe what God says
and to trust him (this is the faith – go beyond just belief to genuine trust) is to enter
into his promises. Unbelief closes the door. One is not at rest if he does not believe
because he is worried about what will happen. Unbelief is equivalent to unrest.
One who does not believe God cannot enter into his rest. Belief joined with trust is
faith. It is rest. It is peace.
Now we come to chapter 4, but there should be no break here. The theme
of entering God’s rest continues. We begin in v. 1 with a “Let us” and another
“therefore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
rest, none of you may seem to fall short. 2For we also have had good news
preached to us, as they have, but the word of hearing did not benefit them, not
having been united in the faith with those having heard. 3For we having had
faith enter into rest,
Warning and Exhortation
The strong emphasis of Hebrews on this matter of going on and not falling
away is continued by the use of the word “fear.” The writer is not trying to scare
people, but is pointing out that there is a fear of missing all that God has for us.
The context shows that it is the great prospect which has come into view
with Christ that creates such a fear lest it should be missed. Holy fear should
always be a feature of a Christian’s life; not fear of judgment; not dread of the Lord;
but fear lest there might be a missing of all that is implicit in the call of grace. The
presence of such an exhortation is itself enough to prove that just to have accepted<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Sparks, God Hath Spoken, p. 75)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
something to be feared, for the reward is worth any cost. The promise remains as
long as it is called today. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom (9.10). Be wise: press on!
Both the Israelites of the Old Testament and we have had good news
preached to us. And by the way, the good news (the literal translation of the Greek
word for “gospel”) is not just the good news of Christ dying for our sins and rising
from the dead. In Mt. 4.23, and in numerous other places, we read of the Lord Jesus
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, which in Hebrews is the inhabited
earth to come, as we have seen. The good news is not just for the lost, but also for
the saved. Good news: there is a glorious kingdom ahead. Do not miss it! Hebrews
points out that even though they heard the good news, it did not profit them
because they did not respond with faith. \u2018They not being united in the faith with
those having heard,\u201d that is, they, those who were not benefited, were not united
in the faith, not faith, but the faith, the Christian faith, with those who heard with
real faith. Our writer keeps emphasizing the need of faith, for faith is the link
between God’s promises and our benefiting from them. We will continue to see
the necessity of faith all through Hebrews. “For we who have had faith enter into
rest,
as he has said, \u201cAs I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest,\u201d [Ps.
95.11] even though the works having been done from the foundation of the
world. 4For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day thus, \u201cAnd God
rested on the seventh day from all his works,\u201d [Gen. 2.2] 5and in this passage
again, \u201cThey will not enter into my rest.\u201d [Ps. 95.11]
The point being made here is that there is a rest already prepared. God
finished his work on the sixth day of creation and rested the seventh day. It is his
rest that we are called to enter, yet there are Christians who will not enter into that
rest because they have not gone on with the Lord: “They will not enter into my
rest.”
6Since therefore it remains for some to enter into it, and those who formerly
having had the good news preached to them did not enter because of
disobedience, 7again he appoints a certain day, today, saying in David after so
long a time, as has been said before, \u201cToday if you should hear his voice, do not<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spoken about another day after these things.
Since it is still today, that rest can still be entered. “As long as it is today.”
The Israelites of the Old Testament did not enter through disobedience. We saw
the close connection between faith and obedience, lack of faith and disobedience.
They failed to enter because they were not convinced that God would take care of
them. They did not believe and have faith, and lack of faith is sin.
In saying that God spoke through David in Ps. 95, which runs through this
section of Hebrews, the writer makes it plain that the rest can still be entered even
after this long lapse of years from the Israelites’ disobedience in the wilderness, for
God has appointed “a certain day, today” and he exhorts once again, “Today if you
should hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Joshua (“Jesus” in Greek) did not give the Israelites rest – none of them
entered the Promised Land except Joshua himself and Caleb. Of course, the
descendants of these first Israelites entered the land, but the writer of Hebrews is
using the first generation to make his point about failing to enter the rest. And v.
8 points once again to the day referred to in Ps. 95. There is another day for
entering the rest.
9There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For the one having
entered into his [God’s] rest has himself also rested from his [the man’s] works,
as God from his [God’s] own.
Now we come to the crux of the matter. There remains a Sabbath rest. What
is Hebrews saying? There are some who have entered the rest, as v. 10 says: “the
one who has entered into his [God’s] rest.” (Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament, Vol.
IV, pgs. 81-82, and G. Campbell, Morgan, 53, like the interpretation that the one
who has entered God’s rest is the Lord Jesus. He points out that the Greek word
for “Joshua” in v. 8 is actually “Jesus,” the Greek form of the name. The first “Jesus”
(Joshua) did not give them rest. The second “Jesus” did, entering it himself and
making the way for us.) As we think through the entire passage from Heb. 3.6b to
this point, we see that there are actually two aspects of this rest. One is now, but
the other, and ultimate, is future. We have already seen that when we are first
saved we enter into rest in Christ for salvation, for there is no work for us to do to
be saved: the finished work of Christ, but that is not the Sabbath rest that remains
that we are dealing with here. But notice something remarkable about this entire
passage. If the Israelites who left Egypt had been faithful and did enter into God’s
rest, what were they entering? The Promised Land. And what happened in the
Promised Land? War! War? Yes, war. How can that be rest? Here we have one of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
comes to a place of genuine surrender to the Lord and trusts in him fully, he comes
into a place of rest in his work, even in the midst of war. We are not to serve the
Lord and win victories for him by our efforts. The way we win victory as
Christians is by standing by faith in the victory that Christ has already won. Paul
writes in Eph. 6.13-14, “Because of this, take up the whole armor of God that you
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand,
therefore\u2026.”
This rest is the rest of working in the power of the Spirit of God. What an
effort it is for man to try to serve God in his own strength. We have a spiritual foe
who is smarter, more experienced, and craftier than we are. If our efforts to
overcome him are those of our own intelligence and will power, we will fail. He
has constructed strongholds that will not yield to our best efforts. But the Bible
tells us that the Lord Jesus has already defeated Satan (Col. 2.15, Heb. 2.14, 1 Jn.
3.8). It tells us that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us
(Acts 1.8). If we can come to the place of giving up our own efforts to serve God in
our flesh, our natural ability, and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest the life of Christ
in us, we will come into rest in the midst of our work.
Probably all of us have heard about peace with God (Rom. 5.1), the peace
we have when our sins are forgiven and we know we have been saved, and the
peace of God (Phil. 4.6-7), the peace that we have when we learn to cease from our
fleshly efforts to be good Christians and rest in Christ for our work. Rest for the
Christian is not the absence of work, but rest in work.
I have often used the example of a Mercedes automobile. Once when I was
on the Autobahn (expressway) in Germany I was driving a little Opel. Everyone
was passing me at alarming speeds. I decided I had better drive as fast as I could
to keep from being run over! I floored it and got up to about 90. That was as fast
as it would go. Still I had cars almost flying past me! There I was going 90 in the
slow lane and being left in the dust. And the interesting thing about it is that those
big Mercedes cars were hardly breathing hard at 120-130 mph. They were built for
it and it was no real effort. They were resting in the midst of very powerful work.
That is what God wants for us. Are you tired of trying to be a good
Christian? I have news: you will never be a good Christian, in yourself. There is
only one Person who has ever or can live a truly Christian life, and that is the Lord
Jesus. He has already done it and he wants to manifest that life in us. If we yield
to him and receive that life by faith, we will begin to see him working to bring us
into that rest. Rest in the midst of work. How hard work can be! But how restful it
can be when we are adequate for it, and we are adequate for it when the Lord Jesus
manifests the power of the Holy Spirit in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
introduces a new word, sabbatismos, related to the word \u201cSabbath.\u201d The rest that
the writer has been dealing with up to now is the victorious Christian life. As we
saw, when Israel entered the land, it entered into war, but they had victory as they
fought because they trusted in God. They did not really win the victory. God gave
it to them. But they had to fight to lay hold of it. This is the rest of obedience to
God in this age as we trust him. We must fight, but we are at rest even then because
we rest in the Lord for the victory.
Yet even this rest in this age is not quite the Sabbath rest that remains,
though it is a foretaste (see Heb. 6.5). There is more to this matter of rest, the
Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God. The writer changes his word for
“rest” here. Before he had used the usual word for “rest,” but here he uses a word
based on the Hebrew “Sabbath.” It is as though he has gone beyond the rest we can
know in this age, even when we are wholly the Lord’s, are trusting fully in him,
and are walking in victory.
The Jewish Sabbath is based on God’s rest on the seventh day of creation.
So is the Sabbath rest that remains for us. If you add up the years of people\u2019s life
in the Old Testament, as well as the time of occurrence of events, you will find that
the Old Testament time lasted for about four thousand years. There have been two
thousand years since then, making six thousand total. Some have believed that this
means that there are seven thousand years in God\u2019s chronology, seven
millenniums (a millennium is a thousand years). We are at the end of the sixth
thousand, and the seventh thousand is the millennium, the time of God\u2019s kingdom
expressed on earth with the Lord Jesus as King. This scheme fits nicely with the
fact that seven in the Bible is a number of completion.
Thus, just as God worked for six days and rested on the seventh, so will
man work for six millenniums and rest in the seventh. I cannot say whether or not
this scheme is actual, but the symbolism of it is obvious. The seventh thousand,
the millennium, is \u201cthe inhabited earth to come, concerning which we speak.\u201d
The Sabbath rest yet remaining is entering God’s Sabbath rest that he
enjoyed on the seventh day of creation and before the fall, when all is restored in
the age to come (see Acts 3.21, Heb. 9.10). Westcott writes, “The Jewish teachers
dwelt much upon the symbolical meaning of the Sabbath as prefiguring ‘the world
to come.’ One passage \u2026 may be given: ‘The people of Israel said: Lord of the
whole world, show us the world to come. God, blessed be he, answered: Such a
pattern is the Sabbath.'” (Westcott, p. 98)
The Sabbath rest for the people of God is receiving the reward of inheriting
our lot in Christ and of being a part of his wife (as Adam had his wife Eve in the
garden) in his kingdom and reigning with him. I believe that all Christians will be
present in the kingdom, but some will miss out on these greatest of blessings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that the Lord has for them. That is the exhortation of Hebrews to the initial readers
of this epistle. Do not fall back into Judaism because of the difficulties of following
Christ. There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, the millennial reign of
the Lord Jesus, an entering into the rest of God himself. Do not miss it!
And notice something else here. This ultimate Sabbath rest will also be a
rest in the midst of work. We will have important work to do. We will be reigning
with Christ, if indeed we are ready for that blessing. We will be priests under our
great High Priest (1 Pt. 2.5 and 9, much more on this later). Who knows what ideas
our great creative God has in mind for his people who have been fully redeemed
and are ready to do what he wanted Adam and Eve to do at the beginning? The
kingdom, and Heaven beyond it, will not be an eternity of nothing to do but
resting. How boring! It will be an eternity of doing work that is eminently
satisfying. Have you ever noticed how satisfied and fulfilled you feel when you
are doing work you love and it is going well? That is the kingdom. That is Heaven.
Rest in work! The difference is that we will be free from the drag of sin and the
flesh. That battle will be over. Praise our great God!
We have seen that God rested from his labors at the end of the sixth day of
creation, but notice what the Lord Jesus says in Jn. 5.17: “My Father works until
now, and I also work.” God is not resting for eternity. He can’t wait to get at what
he has been wanting to do since Adam and Eve, and he has lots more ideas, an
eternity of them. It will take forever for the unfolding of what is in God. Wow! As
v.10 of Heb. 4 says, “For the one who has entered into his [God’s] rest has himself
also rested from his works, as God from his [God’s].” And what is this rest? Rest
in work.
11LET US be diligent therefore to enter into that rest, so that no one fall by the
same example of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active and
sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing to the dividing of soul and
spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the inner passions and thoughts
of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden before him, but all things are naked,
even having been laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Warning and Exhortation
This part of Hebrews closes with one more exhortation, one more LET US.
Not only does Hebrews say not to fall away, but to keep on, but the writer also
exhorts to diligence. The word for “be diligent” at its root means “hasten.” It is as
though Hebrews is saying, “Be in a hurry to enter into that rest.” And, of course,
the time may be short. We do not know at what moment the Lord will come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that what we are about is not earthly, but entirely heavenly. It is spiritual, not
material. Now the writer makes one of the defining statements of this epistle, and
indeed of the Bible as a whole. He writes of the separating of soul and spirit,
something only the word of God can do. What is meant by this statement?
The Scriptures teach that man is made up of spirit, soul, and body. The body
is obviously the physical part of our being. “It is of the earth, made of dust “(1 Cor.
15.47, see Gen. 2.7). The soul is the psychological aspect. The Greek word for “soul”
is psuche, from which we get our words psyche, psychology, and so forth. The soul
is our personality, temperament, mental state, emotional makeup, will power, or
lack of it. It is difficult to separate even soul and body. For example, emotions,
which are psychological, are to at least some extent controlled by our body’s
physical glands and the chemicals they secrete. Damage to the brain, a physical
organ, can affect the psychological state. We speak of the mind. What is the mind?
Maybe no one knows, but it is a function of our brain, and possibly of the glands,
too, yet it is something beyond the brain. If we say someone has lost his mind, we
do not mean that he has lost his brain, but there will be something wrong in the
brain of a person who has lost his mind. You see the point. We are one being with
three \u201cparts,\u201d all inextricably intertwined.
If you think the body and soul are difficult to separate, try separating soul
and spirit! The spirit is the immaterial. Frankly, I am not sure anyone can actually
define “spirit,” but it is that part of our being that is the real person. We are spirits
that have a soul and live in a body, someone said. People have tried to set forth
the aspects of each, such as soul being mind, emotions, and will, and spirit being
intuition (like the mind, the seat of knowledge, but intuition perceives without the
aid of the five senses), communion (with God), and conscience. I find it difficult to
see the validity of this approach. I agree that the spirit is what can relate to God (if
the person is born again so as to have a spirit alive toward God). But the matter is
much more complex.
I once did a study in which I looked up every use in the Bible of the words
spirit, soul, body, and heart. (What is the heart? Where does it fit into all of this?)
I found that, yes, the soul has mind, emotions, and will, but so does the spirit. One
can find many Old Testament passages that show the spirit thinking or knowing,
feeling emotionally, and willing. The whole point of all this is that we are made
up of three parts that cannot be neatly separated by analysis. Yet the separation of
soul and spirit is of great importance.
Let’s say that we are in a worship service in which beautiful music is being
made by those playing instruments and singing to the Lord. Music can affect the
emotions strongly. One can experience the most exquisite feelings. He takes this
experience as touching the Lord. But is it really touching the Lord in his spirit or<\/p>\n\n\n\n
feelings, the person may be living just for these good feelings rather than living for<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now apply this to Hebrews. The epistle was written to those who had been
raised in a material faith, but had accepted the good news of the Lord Jesus, which
had none of those material comforts: no temple, no priests, no special clothing, no
animal sacrifices, no holy days, no festivals. Then the rift between Judaism and
Christianity had grown to the point of complete separation. On top of these, there
was persecution, real hardship resulting from following the Lord Jesus. Those
sights and sounds that had so appealed to these people in their Jewish worship
come to mind. The question arises, Should Christianity develop such outward
forms that would soothe the soul? Beautiful church buildings, priests with
impressive clothing, special observances on holy days that would include music
and pageantry, outward programs that would give a sense of accomplishment
simply because they were active? In fact, that is exactly what Christianity has done.
It has largely become an outward religion that appeals to the soul. Paul wrote, “I
am afraid that somehow, as the snake deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity and purity which are in Christ.” (2 Cor. 11.3)
What is the simplicity which is in Christ? It is simply Christ himself. He and
nothing else is what we are about. There will be things he tells us to do, but we do
them at his leading, not as a “church program.”
Lang writes in this regard,
This word of God enables us to distinguish between what in our thoughts
and intentions is merely natural, of the soul [the Greek word usually
translated \u201cnatural,\u201d as, for example in 1 Cor. 2.14, is psuchikos, literally
\u201csoulish,\u201d ta], and what is spiritual, of the Spirit of life working in us. It is
all too easy to be actuated mainly, or even only, by the instincts and notions
of the natural [soulish, ta] man. It was very natural [soulish, ta] that Israel
feared to face giants and attack walls fortified up to heaven. Only faith in
God gave Caleb and Joshua victory over natural [soulish, ta] fear and
inspired them with conquering courage. (82)
That is the challenge to the first readers of Hebrews. The living and active
word of God will one day divide soul and spirit, that day on which we must all,
as Christians, appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5.10), not for
determining whether we are saved or lost, but to determine reward or loss of
reward in the coming kingdom. All that we did just to give pleasure or comfort to
the soul will be revealed as such, and all that we did out of a spirit in submission
to the Holy Spirit indwelling our spirits will be revealed. A vital part of going on<\/p>\n\n\n\n
soul, acting on what the Lord tells us within and not on our desire to have
pleasurable experiences. Our sharing in the Sabbath rest of God depends on this
division. The judge we will face on that day is “able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.”
I raised the question above, What is the heart? I will not go into a detailed
study of the heart at this point, but just say that it seems to me to be the deepest
level of our inner life, partaking of both spirit and soul, for these are both inner,
and we, though having three parts, are one person. The heart is the essence. What
do you most treasure? “For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
(Mt. 6.21) What are you, who are you, deepest down? The living and active word
of God can penetrate that deep, even dividing soul and spirit, even able to judge
the thoughts and intentions of the heart. You can hide nothing, absolutely nothing,
from him. You and I are “naked and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we
have to do.” Or, as the Greek can be translated, “to the eyes of him to whom we
must give account.” Whichever translation is accurate, both are true. “LET US be
diligent therefore to enter into that rest.”
More from Lang:
It is of the highest importance to recognize these two types of life,
the soulish [here Lang uses \u201csoulish\u201d instead of \u201cnatural,\u201d ta] and the
spiritual; for this distinction, and these two realms and orders of life, are
manifest in His sight before Whose all-penetrating eyes all things are naked
and laid open. It is with having to face such an One that we have to reckon.
We may deceive ourselves, and fondly think that the soul life, because it
does not indulge the viler lusts of the flesh (carnality), will pass His
scrutiny. But the heavenly world, to which we are called, is spiritual, not
soulish, and only that element of our present life and activity which is of
the spirit is preparing us for that upper and purer realm or contributes to
our fitness for it and its activities. As with the resurrection body, the outer
man, so much more must it be with the inner man, that the spiritual must
swallow up the soulish, (1 Cor. 15.44-46). It is in the soul that our severest
perils arise and work; it is in the natural heart that sin deceives us, and
never more subtly and successfully than by the notion that the natural life
is sufficient though not infused by the light and energy of the spiritual life.
It is our wisdom to submit always to the searching, challenging,
directing, enabling action of God\u2019s words; for His life is in His words, \u201cthey
are spirit and they are life\u201d (John 6.63), the life that is life indeed. \u201cTo-day,
if ye shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts,\u201d but rather, as is the
design of these present pages, \u201cexhort one another day by day, so long as it<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the glory of God is still set forth for faith to attain. (83)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore as the Holy Spirit says, \u201cToday if you should hear his voice\u2026.
Hebrews quotes Ps. 95, beginning with v. 7: Today if you should hear his
voice\u2026.” It seems to be human nature, shared by Christians, to want to learn the
proper pattern for doing something. We like principles and techniques. If we can
learn “the way it’s done,” then we can just apply that every time a situation comes
up and handle it. What do we find in Scripture, though?
We find the Israelites coming up to Jericho and being commanded by God
to march around the city once a day for six days, then to march around it seven
times on the seventh day, blow the trumpets, and shout. When they did, the walls
fell down and they went in and conquered the city. Oh, so that’s how it’s done. So
they formed the Jericho Church and applied that technique to every city they tried
to take. No, we never again hear of a city being taken in this way. We hear once of
God telling David to wait in front of the trees, and when he heard the sound of
rustling in the tops of the trees to go into battle, for that was the sound of the Lord’s
army going before him. When he obeyed, he defeated the Philistines. Did David
thereafter always wait by the trees for the rustling sound? No, we never hear again
of such a method of winning a battle.
We read of the invasion of Judah under Jehoshaphat by the Moabites,
Ammonites, and inhabitants of Mt. Seir. Jehoshaphat appointed people to go
before the army praising the Lord, and when they did, the Lord caused the three
enemy groups to fight among themselves and destroy each other. The army of
Israel never even got into battle! Do we then read of every subsequent battle being
fought in this way? No, we never hear of such a thing again.
We could multiply examples, but the point is that God never did a thing the
same way twice. He always had a new way to deal with a problem. Why is this?
Because he wanted to teach his people not a technique that would always work,
but to know him and depend on him. If we had a technique that always worked,
we would not need God, would we? Or at least would not need to know him. But
the important thing is not that we always succeed, but that we learn to hear from
God. We want a method, a principle, a technique. What does God say to this?
“Today if you should hear my voice.” Not, apply the technique you learned
yesterday, last year, ten years ago, but listen for the voice of God today. He wants<\/p>\n\n\n\n
want to know how it’s done. God wants us to know him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After saying that the Israelites go astray in their hearts, God also says in Ps.
95 that they “have not known my ways.” That phrase “my ways” is the thought
that concerns us.
Another psalm expresses the same idea, Ps. 103.7: “He made known his
ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel.” There is a difference between God’s
ways and his acts. The Israelites saw his acts. They saw the Red Sea rolled back for
them to go through on dry ground. They saw bitter water turned to sweet by the
throwing in of a tree (a type of the cross making our bitter waters sweet as we turn
to the Lord). They saw water flow from a smitten rock. They saw manna from
Heaven. They saw all the miracles and provision of God during the journey from
Egypt to Canaan. But they never knew God’s ways. Another passage helps to
explain what this means.
In Ex. 32 Moses was on Mt. Sinai meeting with God. Because of his absence
of forty days, the people grew restless and impatient. They said that they did not
know what had happened to Moses and asked Aaron to make a god for them.
Aaron made the golden calf, and they worshipped it and ascribed to it their
deliverance from Egypt. The Lord told Moses to go down from the mountain
because of the idolatry. When he saw it, Moses threw down the two tablets
containing the Ten Commandments and shattered them, symbolizing the broken
law. God had told Moses that he would destroy Israel and make a great nation of
him, but Moses interceded for the people and God heard his prayer. But God said
that he would not go in the midst of the people because of their stubbornness, so
that he would not destroy them. Moses said that he could not bear the people alone
and had to have the Lord’s presence. He entreated the Lord to go with them, and
then made a very interesting statement in Ex. 33.13: “Now therefore, I pray you, if
I have found favor in your sight, show me now your ways, that I may know
you\u2026.”
What a remarkable statement this is. Moses says that the way to get to know
God is to get to know his ways. The people knew only God’s deeds, but they never
really knew him, for they never knew his ways. Moses got to know God’s ways,
and thus he knew God. What are God’s ways?
Another Old Testament passage will help us, Is. 55.7-9:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
let him return to I AM, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for
he will abundantly pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways,” says I AM. “For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts.”
These verses tell us that God’s ways are different from man’s. How are they
different? We are told one way in this passage. It is that God is a forgiving God. It
is man’s nature to hold a grudge and to get even. Men want others to pay when
they do wrong. Of course, there are times when it is necessary for men to pay for
their wrongs, and this is a part of God’s requirement, but God is not one who holds
a grudge. He does not try to get even. If he did there would not be any of us left!
His desire is to forgive and to restore men. His judgment comes only when people
refuse to repent and turn to him. They bring it on themselves. It is God’s nature to
forgive.
Perhaps the most basic example of the difference between God’s ways and
those of man is the fact that God is a self-giver. Man is self-centered, self-seeking,
selfish. That is the essence of sin, man desiring to get his on way and not caring
whom he hurts in the process. This is the basis of murder and war. Ja. 4.1-3 tells us
that our selfish desires are the source of quarrels and fighting. We will even go to
the extent of killing people to get what we want. Self-centeredness is the basis of
the divorce crisis. People do not marry with any sense of lifetime commitment, but
with the idea, “You make me happy and I’ll stay with you. If you don’t I’ll leave.”
It is all for self. We do not marry to make the other person happy, which is of the
essence of love, but to be made happy ourselves. No wonder marriages do not
work.
God, on the other hand, is giving. He has a beloved Son whom he delights
in, and it is his purpose to give him everything. Further, he plans to allow a
redeemed people to share in that blessing as the companion of that Son. God owns
everything and he plans to give it all away. How generous he is. He has
everything, yet he wants nothing for himself. How opposite to man!
God is the God of revelation and not of reason, of faith and not of sight.
Many say, “Seeing is believing.” God says, “Believing is seeing.” It is man’s way to
try to reason everything out or to apply the scientific method. There is nothing
wrong with using these faculties, for they are God-given, but the tendency of
human nature is to use them to the exclusion of God, rather than under his
direction. Man says that if God will prove himself, he will believe. God says that
if a man will believe, he will prove himself inwardly to that man. The fear of God<\/p>\n\n\n\n
has proper fear of God will trust in him.
God’s way is that of repentance. Man’s way is that of self-justification. Man
does not want to admit he is wrong, but in his pride to deny or cover up
wrongdoing. God says that man should repent and allow God to make him right.
Refusing to repent is like refusing to see a doctor about a serious illness. The thing
the person denies will kill him. The sin a man refuses to repent of will kill him
spiritually, but it is man’s way to defend himself. How much we could gain by
following the ways of God in repentance.
One of the most important aspects of the ways of God is found throughout
the New Testament, but is revealed especially in a pivotal verse, Jn. 12.24: “Amen,
amen I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains
alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” What is this verse saying? It says that a
seed has life in it, but that life is encased in a husk and cannot get out. The way for
the life to get out is for the husk to die. That is accomplished by planting the seed.
In the ground the husk dies, but the life gets out and produces an abundant crop.
As long as the husk remains intact the seed remains alone. When it dies, abundant
fruit is produced.
It is the same with the Christian. He contains the life of God, for the Holy
Spirit dwells in him. The problem is that the life is encased in a husk called flesh,
that self-principle in all of us. In order for the life of God to get out and be a blessing
to others, it is necessary for God to deal with the flesh. That is the meaning of the
trials of life. They are God trying to break the flesh that his life may get out and
produce a crop. As long as we refuse to let God deal with our flesh, we remain
alone. We contain God’s life, but are of no use to God or to anyone else spiritually.
When we allow him to break the flesh, his life begins to get out, and we begin to
see God using us and blessing others.
What is this really saying? It is saying that God’s ways are the way of life
out of death. Life out of death is resurrection life. It is life indestructible. It is man’s
way to try to preserve life, to hold on to it, but what we are born with naturally
will die anyway. What we receive by the new birth and by the dealing of God with
our flesh will never die. What we really need is the touch of God’s life, and what
others need from us is not our intelligence or wisdom or ability, but the life of God
flowing from us. But that is resurrection life, and you do not get resurrection
without death. That death is the dealing of God with our flesh, but what life it
produces when we yield to it! The way of man is to hold on to everything. The
way of God is to let it die, then raise up in resurrection life what is of eternal value.
Is not the Lord Jesus the example?
Thus we see many aspects of the ways of God. The important point for
Moses and for us is that getting to know the ways of God means we get to know<\/p>\n\n\n\n
life of God. He has touched the Lord and knows him. The person who has learned
repentance, faith, forgiveness, giving, knows the Lord. As the Lord deals with us
and teaches us his way, we find in the process that we are getting to know him.
May we be, not like the Israelites who always complained against God and saw
only his acts, but never got to know him, but like Moses, who yielded to the
dealing of God on the back side of the desert, and through all that long putting up
with the Israelites, and who thereby knew God’s ways, and in knowing the ways
knew God. How vital it is to know the ways of God, indeed, the ways life out of
death.
The Superiority of Christ to the Levitical High Priest
Heb. 4.14-8.6
14Having therefore a great High Priest having passed through the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God, LET US hold fast the confession.
We now come to one of the major themes of Hebrews, that of our Lord Jesus
as our High Priest. In this passage we see the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus as
superior to that of Levi, the Jewish priesthood in the Old and New Testaments.
Note above that I wrote that this section on the High Priest goes through
Heb. 8.6. Lang takes it through the end of chapter 7. That difference is not
important, but I want to point out that he says that 4.14-5.10 deals with the
preparation of the priest, and I would agree with that assessment. Keep that
thought in mind as we go through these verses and notice the factors in the
preparation of the Lord to be High Priest. (Lang, 84)
These thoughts begin with the statement that we have a High Priest who
has passed through the heavens. What is the meaning of this arresting statement?
The passage at hand contrasts the Priesthood of Christ with that of Levi,
and it is the Levitical priesthood that forms the background of this statement. In
the book of Exodus Moses was commanded by God to build a Tabernacle in which
the presence of God would dwell among his people. Since the people could not
come into contact with God because of their sins, the Tabernacle contained a room
called the Holy of Holies in which God dwelt. This room was sealed off by a veil
and no one could enter it except the High Priest, and he could enter it only once a
year, on the Day of Atonement. On that day he would carry the blood of the
sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on and in front of the mercy seat,
the throne of God. It was by passing through the veil that the High Priest came
into the presence of God on behalf of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tabernacle in the Old Testament was only a picture of the true Tabernacle in
Heaven. God dwelt among his people Israel in the Old Testament Tabernacle, but
his true, eternal, spiritual dwelling is in Heaven. The passing of the Lord Jesus
through the heavens into the presence of God is the same as the passing of the
High Priest in Judaism through the veil, but the passing of the Lord Jesus is
superior because he did not pass through a shadow, a type, but into the reality,
the eternal dwelling of God in Heaven. There he represents us before God, as it is
developed in Hebrews later.
There is a fuller meaning, though, to this picture of the Lord Jesus passing
through the heavens. It has to do with the way people of Bible times viewed the
world and contains great truth for us. In that time the earth was thought to be flat,
with Heaven above, past the sky or the heavens (the Hebrew word and Greek
word both mean both “heaven” and “sky,” the Hebrew always in the plural), and
the abode of the dead, hades, below. Hades is different from hell in the New
Testament. Hades is where the wicked dead await judgment, and hell is the
destination of final judgment of Satan, his angelic followers, and lost people. The
heavens, or sky, were between earth and Heaven, and had spiritual significance.
In Eph. 2.2 Satan is called the ruler of the authority of the air. The air in this verse
is the heavens of Heb. 4.14. It is the space between Heaven and earth. Because of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
space is ruled by Satan. The world lies under his control. Of course we as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
at the pleasure of God, but under that sovereignty Satan is allowed by God to be
the god of this age (2 Cor. 4.4). Most people live under the deception of Satan. He
is the ruler of the authority of the air.
We have stressed on several occasions the fact that the Lord Jesus utterly
defeated Satan at the cross, and have cited Col. 2.15, Heb. 2.14, and 1 Jn. 3.8 to
support that assertion. Now Heb. 4.14 reinforces this claim, for it tells us that when
the time came for his ascension, the Lord Jesus passed through the heavens into
Heaven. That is, he went through the area of authority of Satan, and Satan could
do nothing about it. All the forces of evil in the spiritual realm could only watch
as the victorious Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven. The true significance of this for
us we have already seen, in chapter 1 of Hebrews. It is that the Lord Jesus went to
Heaven as a man. We would expect him to be in Heaven as God, but on that day
nearly two thousand years ago a man went to Heaven, the perfect representative
man in whom we have not just hope, but assurance, of Heaven, and Satan was
powerless to stop it! Hallelujah to our God! He is Victor over evil and he includes
us. That is the significance for us of the Lord’s passing through the heavens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
passed through the heavens into Heaven, not just through a veil into a tent or
temple. He fully accomplished what the picture prophesied, including the total
overthrow of evil.
Warning and Exhortation
Having written this statement about the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus,
Hebrews now has another LET US: “LET US hold fast the confession.” Because of
the fact that the Lord Jesus has passed through Satan’s territory with no
opposition, but in complete victory, “LET US hold fast the confession.” We have
confessed Christ as Lord and Savior. We have come this far with him. No matter
what the temptations may be to return to Judaism, or to another religion or to no
faith at all, in a time of trouble, hold fast. This victorious Savior will get us through.
If we turn back, we lose the reward. If we hold fast, we gain the reward of our
inheritance in Christ and our marriage to him in his kingdom glory. Hold fast!
15For we do not have a High Priest being unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but having been tempted in all things in likeness to us, without
sin.
There is a second sense in which the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus is
superior. That will come out further as we see the comparison that Hebrews makes
between the Lord Jesus and the Old Testament priests. Like them he is able to
sympathize with our weaknesses, for though he did not sin, he knew temptation
just as they did. We are told of his temptation in the wilderness at the beginning
of his ministry. Satan tempted him to act as God, rather than man, to turn stones
into bread to satisfy his hunger, but it was not the will of the Father to act in that
way. He was tempted to tempt God by throwing himself off the temple to see if
God would send angels or let him die. He says plainly that no one, including
himself, is to tempt God. God might just let him hit the ground. Satan tried to give
him all the kingdoms of the world without the cross, the easy way. All he had to
do was fall down and worship Satan and it was all his. The Lord replied that we
are to worship God only. In every case he quoted the word of God as his refutation
of Satan’s lies.
We are not told of temptations during the ministry of the Lord, but surely
they were plentiful as he faced combat with his opponents who tried every way to
catch him in something they could use to arrest him and put him to death. And
then in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed to be released from drinking
the cup of the cross and all that went with it, Satan, must have been strong in his<\/p>\n\n\n\n
will, but yours be done.”
Even on the cross, when he was taunted by those saying to him, “Come
down from the cross,” he must have known strong temptation to do so. I can
almost hear Satan hissing, “Do it! Do it!” He could have called seventy-two
thousand angels (Mt. 26.53). But he obeyed the Father and died without sin.
We will never know what our precious Lord went through in those hours.
He knew that he would taste hell, his being forsaken by his Father. Have you ever
said to the Lord something to the effect of, “Lord, you don’t understand what I am
going through”? You will never face anything even approaching what he did, nor
will I. The truth is that we can never sympathize with him, but he can certainly
sympathize with us. He has been through it all. And he did this, not as almighty
God, but as a man, one of us. He accepted weakness as a part of his humanity
because we are weak as humans (Ps. 103.14, Mt. 26.41). He did not exempt himself.
He knows the strength of temptation and the weakness of flesh. He can
sympathize.
16LET US come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may
receive mercy and find grace for timely help.
Because he suffered under temptation just as we do, his throne is a throne of grace.
(Notice that this Priest also has a throne, something no priest in Israel had. He is
also King. Hebrews deals with this a bit later.) Most thrones of men are thrones of
judgment or harsh rule and men are afraid to appear before someone on a throne.
Not so with our God. His throne is a throne of grace. He is the Judge, to be sure,
but our sins have been dealt with. Judgment for sin is past and we find at that
throne not judgment, but mercy and grace for timely help (a more literal
translation). God is always timely, neither early nor late.
Therefore we can come with boldness. The Greek word for \u201cboldness\u201d used
here
comes from two Greek words that mean \u201csaying all.\u201d (Saphir, I, 248) That is, we
can speak freely with God, holding nothing back. We can say anything we need to
say, keeping in mind, of course, that we do not mean disrespectful or vulgar
words, though the truth is that God can take it with grace and mercy if we are in
that bad a condition. We can bear our hearts before this sympathetic High Priest.
We can pour out our hearts before him. Saphir adds, \u201cWe need only understand
that we are sinners and that He is the High Priest. The law was given that every
mouth may be shut, for we are guilty. The High Priest is given that every mouth
may be open, for Jesus receives sinners.\u201d (I, 250)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And here is still another LET US, another exhortation. LET US come with
boldness, not flimsy human hope, but boldness, to this throne of grace. This is one
of the most comforting statements in all God’s word. Grace is love, and whatever
else is needed, freely given. People often think that God is a nasty old judge who
delights in our sins so he can punish us. That is the devil’s lie. God is love. God is
grace. Everything we are and have is a gift, a free gift. That is our God. When you
need pity for your miserable condition (the meaning of “mercy”), when you need
grace for forgiveness or to face some difficulty, come to this throne. Pour out your
heart. There grace comes in torrents, for it is the throne of the God who is love, the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his all to demonstrate that love,
while we were still sinners! Not when we had cleaned up our lives. While we were
still sinners (Rom. 5.8). Oh, come. He waits to hear your cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
God, that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, 2being able to deal gently
with those being ignorant and straying since he himself is also beset with
weakness, 3and because of it is obligated, as for the people, so also for himself,
to offer for sins. 4And no one takes the honor for himself, but being called by
God, as also Aaron was. 5Thus also Christ did not glorify himself to become
a High Priest, but the one having said to him, \u201cYou are my Son. Today I have
begotten you,\u201d [Ps. 2.7]
Like the Levitical priests the Lord Jesus was appointed to his task. They did
not act in such pride as to take the priesthood for themselves. It was given to them
by God. If one tried to appoint himself priest, death was the result (Num. 16.1-35),
and appointment by man led to the destruction of Jeroboam and his house (1 Ki.
13.33-34). In the same way the Lord Jesus was appointed by God. Indeed he could
not be a priest under the law, for he was not born of the priestly tribe. The only
way he could be a priest was for God to appoint him such, and that God did. We
will see the deeper significance of this appointment later. For now its meaning is
that the Lord Jesus was like the Levitical priests in not taking the priesthood for
himself.
The appointment by God of the Lord Jesus as Priest was accompanied by
the declaration by God, “You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.” This is a
quotation of Ps. 2.7, and Acts 13.33 tells us the meaning of it. In telling the Jews in
the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch that God had raised the Lord Jesus from the
dead, Paul says that this resurrection was the fulfillment of the Old Testament
promise, and quotes this same verse, “You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
all manner of theological argument for centuries, nearly two millenniums. In the
natural, of course, “begotten” means “fathered” in a physical sense, a male sperm
fertilizing a female egg. No one believes that God literally fathered his Son
physically, but there have been attempts to develop a doctrine of the begetting of
the Lord Jesus as though he had a beginning and is not eternal, or that he is the
product of an eternal generation by God, and so on. The simple biblical answer is
found in Col. 1.18 and Rev. 1.5, referred to earlier in dealing with Heb. 1.6, where
we learn that the Lord Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. Yet he was never born,
except in the incarnation, another matter entirely. The incarnation was as a human
baby in time. This “begetting” is in eternity. The Lord Jesus was the first human
“born from the dead,” the first man with a resurrected body. It is figurative
language. And when Col. 1.15 calls the Lord Jesus “the firstborn of all creation,” it
is dealing with the spiritual office of carrying on the spiritual work of God, not
physical birth or creation, as we also saw in dealing with Heb. 1.6.
The superiority of the Lord’s Priesthood to that of the Levitical priests is
further seen in the fact that those priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins
as well as for those of the people. Our Lord had no sin, and thus could offer, not
sacrifices for his own sins, but himself as the Sacrifice for the sins of others, and
because of his sinlessness, his sacrifice of himself was able to take away the sins of
the people. The Old Testament priesthood only covered sins, as we have seen, but
could not take them away. Thus the sacrifices had to be offered continually, day
after day, year after year. But the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus did not cover sins. It
took them away. The debt has been paid and there is no more need of sacrifice for
sins. We will see more of this later in Hebrews.
6as he also says in another passage, \u201cYou are a priest into the age according to
the order of Melchizedek,” [Ps. 110.4]
Bound up with all this is the mention by Hebrews that the Lord Jesus has
been made a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. This rich theme is
developed in chapter 7, so we will wait till then to deal with it. Keep in mind for
now that the Lord Jesus could not have been a Levitical priest, as noted, but he
was a Priest nonetheless, meaning that there must be a new order of priesthood.
7who in the days of his flesh, having offered petitions and supplications to the
one being able to save him from death, with strong crying and tears, and having
been heard because of his caution in the things of God,
8
though being a Son,
learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9And having been matured, he<\/p>\n\n\n\n
designated by God High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Heb. 5.7-10 deals with the days of the Lord’s flesh and how they led to his
High Priesthood. We are told in v. 7 that the Lord Jesus shrank from death on the
cross. He cried out to God to be delivered from it, petitioning and supplicating
with strong crying and tears, but as the gospels tell us, he yielded to his Father
with the words, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” Even though it
was the will of God for him to suffer and die and he did have to go through it,
Heb. 5.7 tells us that he was heard because of his eulabeia.
This Greek word is a bit difficult to translate. The NASV has “piety,” the
NIV, “reverent submission,” and the recent ESV, “reverence” and so on. I have used
“cation in the things of God,” explained in the next paragraph. All these various
translations of the versions capture something of the meaning. In Greek the prefix
eu means “good” or “well.” Most any English word that begins with “eu” has to do
with something good. Examples are eulogy, saying something good about a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
born or noble. Ironically, euthanasia means “good death,” a “mercy killing.” Our<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The labeia part of eulabeia comes from the word that means to take or receive.
The idea of eulabeia, to receive well, is caution, and it includes something of the
fear of God, the fear of missing out on all that God has for us in his kingdom.
(Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 36) Trench writes,
“The image on which it rests is that of the careful taking hold and wary handling
\u2026 of some precious yet fragile vessel, which with ruder or less gentle handling
might easily be broken\u2026.” One does not, or at least, should not, roughly take or
handle something valuable that is handed to him. He handles it with caution.
Applied to Christian thought, it conveys the idea of handling the things of God
carefully. Anything God gives to us is a thing of great value and needs to be
handled very carefully by us. This caution with the things of God characterized
the Lord Jesus, and because of it, God heard him. He did not deliver him from
death, but he did raise him from the dead and exalt him to the High Priesthood
because he valued the things of God highly.
Heb. 5.8-9 tells us the Lord Jesus learned obedience through the things he
suffered. This is a remarkable statement, much like Heb. 2.10. We would have
thought that the Lord was just naturally perfectly obedient, but this verse tells us
that he learned obedience through suffering, just as Heb. 2.10 says that he was
matured through sufferings. We dealt at length at that verse with the Old
Testament background of this thought, and it would be helpful to refer to that at
this point. The key to understanding is that the Lord Jesus became a man and went<\/p>\n\n\n\n
obedience. He always turned to his Father in difficulty, instead of away from him,
much as we do, and not just to get God to get him out of it, but to teach him
through it, and he learned that that was indeed the right response to difficulty. He
did not get out of it, and had to go even to the cross, but he found that he always
learned something more of God in the things he suffered.
The same is true of us. If we will turn to the Lord in trial, not trying to get
out of it, but trying to get something, God’s something, out of it, we will learn
obedience, as the Lord Jesus did, and we will come to know him better (Phil. 3.10).
Hebrews concludes this train of thought with the statement that the Lord
Jesus, having been matured by the things he suffered, became the source of eternal
salvation for those who obey him, because he is a High Priest after the order of
Melchizedek. The idea is that the Lord Jesus, as a man, earned salvation. You and
I could never earn salvation, for no matter how good we may be, we have all
sinned, broken God’s law, offended him. That has to be dealt with, and we could
not deal with it. We were helpless and hopeless. But the Lord lived a perfect
human life and thus was qualified to offer himself as a Sacrifice to take away sins,
not just to cover them, and he earned the right, as a man, to go to Heaven. Since he,
like Adam, is a representative man, he is able to include others in the salvation he
earned, and thus he is the source of eternal salvation. We do indeed have a
superior High Priest. His superiority will be seen further in Heb. 7, but first there
is a parenthesis in Heb. 5.11-6.20, that deals with immaturity and apostasy. We
turn now to these thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 5.11-6.20
11Concerning him the word for us to speak is considerable and hard to explain,
since you have become hard of hearing. 12For indeed you being obligated to be
teachers because of the time, you have need for someone to teach you again the
elementary principles of the beginning of the sayings of God and you have
come to have need of milk and not strong food. 13For everyone partaking of milk
is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. 14But strong food
is for the mature, those having the senses trained because of practice for
discernment of good and evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus, tells his readers that they have not matured as Christians as they should<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that the readers are not only in danger of falling away because of difficulty, but
they also are slack in what we just studied, receiving the things of God with great
care, with the fear of missing out on the rewards of the kingdom. Recall the
thought of Bro. Austin-Sparks that we mentioned as we dealt with Heb. 2.5, that
we should be growing toward fullness in Christ now, in this life. The way to gain
all that God has for us in the kingdom is to gain all of him that we can now, and
for him to gain all of us now!
But because of this immaturity, the writer, who wants to go on with the
explanation of the significance of Melchizedek, says that it is a difficult topic and
cannot be explained to the immature. First we are told about milk and solid food,
then some of the specific items that the immature dwell on.
Milk is the food of the immature. It is in liquid form, so needs no chewing,
is bland, and is easy to digest. As a person grows more mature, he begins to need
and desire more substantial food, and he begins to appreciate variety in taste. So
it is with the Christian. When a person is first born again he is a baby Christian
and needs to be fed by others. He needs to be instructed by others, and he may
have difficulty understanding the Bible and may require books that help explain
it. This may go on for years, and indeed we can always learn from others. But there
comes a time when a maturing Christian (I am not sure there are any mature ones!)
has a grasp of spiritual truth himself and is able to instruct others, and he is able
to understand the Bible without the aid of someone’s book. He begins to move into
areas of deeper spiritual truth. What are some of the deeper truths? Before looking
at them, let us look at Heb. 6.1-2, where some of the doctrines are listed that the
immature do not move on from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works
and faith in God, 2of teachings of baptisms and laying on of hands, and the
resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3And this we will do if God
permit.
Warning and Exhortation
These doctrines are not themselves immature or unimportant. They are
essential to the Christian faith. They are foundational, but the problem is that
many spend the rest of their Christian life dwelling with these basic principles and
never go on. We never leave these truths, but God does want us to build on them
and go on to other things. We have here another LET US, another exhortation: LET
US be carried on to maturity. What are these fundamental teachings?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
not even a Christian. One must turn from his sins to God if he is to be saved. Thus
the doctrine of repentance is absolutely basic. Yet it would be immature to spend
all of one’s Christian life considering the doctrine of repentance and never doing
anything else. Dead works are those efforts of man to be saved by his own
goodness. Scripture makes it plain that we are saved by grace through faith, not
by works, so this effort is a “dead work” that can never result in salvation. We need
to make certain that we repent, but then we need to move on to other truths,
remembering that there will many opportunities for repentance as life goes on.
So it is with faith toward God. Faith goes hand-in-hand with repentance.
When the Lord Jesus came preaching in Galilee, his message was to repent and
have faith in the good news. Hebrews is not dealing here with the life of faith, but
with first trusting in God for salvation. Just as in the case of repentance, without
faith there is no salvation, but to spend the rest of one’s Christian life dwelling on
saving faith is to remain a baby.
Next mentioned is teaching about washings or baptisms (the word is
plural). It is not certain what is meant by this phrase. “Baptisms” or “washings” is
plural, but there is only one Christian baptism. The phrase may still refer to
Christian baptism, or it is possible that the original readers of Hebrews, Jewish
Christians, still practiced Judaism, which included washings. Whatever the exact
reference, the idea of being cleansed before God is a basic Christian truth that
needs to be taken care of, as is the understanding that baptism pictures dying with
Christ, being buried, and rising again to a new life, but again, to give it the whole
of one’s attention is to fail to grow.
Laying on of hands probably has to do with the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
or possibly commissioning for service (Acts 13.1-3). Every Christian receives the
Holy Spirit at the new birth. That is technically what the new birth is, the Holy
Spirit making alive the dead (because of sin) human spirit. But Scripture tells us to
be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5.18), and this refers to the Lordship of Christ in our
lives. It is possible to be saved and not be living up to one’s salvation. God wants
us all to walk in the fullness of what he has done for us. In the book of Acts this
fullness was often imparted by the laying on of hands. Every Christian should see
to it that he is wholly submitted to the Lord and is walking in the fullness of the
Spirit, but to major on the laying on of hands, the receiving of the fullness, and not
to go on actually walking in what this is received for, is immature.
The resurrection of the dead is one of those foundational doctrines. Paul
tells us in 1 Cor. 15 that without the resurrection we are not saved. He is so bold
as to say that if we have hoped in Christ for this life only, we are the most pitiful
of all people. Those who deny the resurrection deny everything the Lord Jesus
came to do. He might as well not have come. But to spend all our time dwelling<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So many testimonies have been given in which the person says he was saved years
ago and he is going to Heaven someday. Praise the Lord for that, but is God so
poor that he has nothing for us in between? Let us be clear on the resurrection, and
let us build our hope on it, but let us not be so immature as to stop there.
Finally, eternal judgment is mentioned. The New Testament is quite clear
about eternal judgment. It says on many occasions that Satan and his angels and
people who do not turn to the Lord will face eternal judgment. One of the great
blessings of salvation is the negative side of it, that we have escaped hell. We need
to make no mistake about it, and to thank God for it, but what a tragedy it would
be if someone got saved and then spent years as a Christian doing nothing but
holding to the doctrine of escape from hell. He would miss all the positive
blessings that God has for his own.
Majoring on any one, or all, or any combination of these doctrines, is a sign
of immaturity.
An important point in all of this is that a Christian does not abandon these
ideas as he grows. They are certainly true, and they always will be, and they form
the foundation of Christian living. But that is just the point. They are the
foundation, not the building. They are not to be left behind, but to be built on. A
baby is born with a body, but as his body grows he does not do away with parts
of it (baby teeth is an exception!). What he is born with is his foundation. Instead
of leaving his baby body behind, he adds to it, developing more and stronger
muscle (and adult teeth). What a foolish idea, to think of a baby abandoning his
body because he is becoming more mature! Silly, isn’t it? (I think some
philosophers would like that!) Yet it would be a great tragedy for a baby never to
grow. It is an illness. That is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is dealing with
spiritually. He is saying that to spend all of one’s Christian life dealing with the
foundational doctrines is to remain a baby, never growing up, always playing with
the blocks, but to abandon them would be like a baby leaving behind his body as
he grew. It is an impossibility. The exhortation is to make certain that all these
fundamental issues are settled, and then, as we hold to them, to go on to maturity.
And the writer adds that we will do this if God permits. If God permits? It is surely
God’s will that all his people go on to maturity, but this statement is another
indication that it is possible to resist the Lord to the point that he will no longer
take one on to maturity. All the Israelites who came out of Egypt except Joshua
and Caleb died in the wilderness, the equivalent of failing to go on with the Lord
and so missing the reward of the inheritance in the kingdom.
What are some of the deeper truths that one grows into? We cannot spend
a great deal of space on this topic, and it would require great length to deal with it
adequately. Let us just mention one or two ideas. First, when one is first saved, he<\/p>\n\n\n\n
marvelous has been done for him and he rightly rejoices in it. But as time goes by
a Christian often finds that God is not as real to him as at the beginning and the
initial joy is not there. He begins to go through a dry time spiritually. This is often
discouraging and many lose interest in the things of God because of this. What a
need there is for teachers in the church who will prepare new Christians for this
and explain to them what is happening when it occurs. It is indeed wonderful
what God has done for us, but the Lord Jesus came not to be served, but to serve,
and he calls his followers to walk the same road. God wants to wean us away from
preoccupation with what Christian life has done for us and lead us into an
understanding of the fact that it is a life of service. Beyond that, he wants to bring
us to the place where our concern is with him, not with what he gives: the Giver,
not the gift. Thus he begins to take away those feelings of joy to draw us to himself.
He wants us to live for him and to know him for his own sake, not for the good
feelings.
Then the Lord wants us to understand the principle of resurrection life, not
the basic doctrine of the resurrection of the dead considered above, but the truth
that God wants to deal with our flesh now, putting it to death and releasing his
resurrection life within us now. It is the principle of Jn. 12.24 that we dealt with at
length in our additional note on Heb. 3.10, which the reader may wish to review.
Heb. 6.1 says, “Let us be carried on to maturity.” The translations say to go
on to maturity, but that is not what the text says. It says to be carried on to
maturity. That is, maturity is not just something we develop in ourselves. It just
naturally happens if we are yielded to the Lord. He does it. We do not reach
maturity. He carries us to it. It is something God does, but we must be willing to
go on. As we agree with God to leave the beginning of the doctrines we find that
they are not abandoned, but built on, and that God himself carries us on toward
maturity. What a wonderful God we serve. He makes some stern requirements of
us, but we find that when we yield to them he does what it takes to meet them. Let
us indeed agree with him to let him take us on to maturity.
4For it is impossible for those once been enlightened and having tasted the
heavenly gift and become partakers of the Holy Spirit 5and tasted the good
speaking of God and the powers of the coming age 6and falling away, to renew
them again to repentance, crucifying to themselves again the Son of God and
exposing him to public ridicule. 7For land having drunk the rain coming on it
often and bearing a crop suitable to those for whom it is also cultivated receives
a blessing from God, 8but bearing thorns and thistles it is disapproved and near
a curse, whose end is for burning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
immature is to flirt with something far more dangerous. In Heb. 6.4-8 we are told
that it is possible to fall away from God. This is one of those passages that has
caused great dispute among Christians. Some believe that it is possible for a person
to be saved and then to lose his salvation. Others believe that once a person is
saved, he is always saved no matter what. This passage appears to support the
former view, and those who believe in eternal security have resorted to all sorts of
interpretative devices to make it say what they believe. My own belief, come to
after some years of Bible study with openness to either possibility, is that once a
person is saved he stays saved. I believe this is the general impression the Bible
gives throughout, as well as its definite statements. However, there are two or
three passages that could be taken to mean than one can lose salvation. Gal. 5.2-4
is one of these, and the passage here in Hebrews is another. My opinion, and I state
clearly that it is my opinion, is that once a person is saved he cannot lose salvation,
but I think these two passages leave enough room for the other view that one
would be most foolish to take the chance. The Lord is trying to insure that one
does not take the position that he can do anything he pleases because he is saved
and thus can never be lost. That is what is called tempting God, as we saw in
dealing with the Lord’s temptations in the wilderness as we considered Heb. 4.15.
You do not want to tempt God. That is exceedingly dangerous. Do not go there,
but go on with the Lord.
Some who believe in eternal security would say that the person who falls
away, meaning loses salvation, as indicated in this passage, was never saved to
begin with. That may be in some cases, but it is hard to make that argument here
because of the description of the hypothetical person who falls away:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
knowledge;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
(partaking of the Holy Spirit is what makes one a Christian; Lang, pgs. 99-100,
thinks the heavenly gift refers to manna and is a type of Christ as the Bread of life);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
powers of the age to come (a foretaste of the millennial kingdom).
Surely such a one is a saved person.
The one who has experienced these things and then falls away cannot be
renewed to repentance. We do not know how many “second chances” the Lord
may give, but we saw just above, on v.3, that it is possible for a person to resist
God to the point that he no longer deals with the person along these lines, but lets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
he does lose the reward of inheritance in the millennial kingdom.
This possibility of God discontinuing dealing with a person seems very
possible when the writer states what such a person has done in falling away: he
has crucified the Son of God again to himself and exposed him to public ridicule.
Paul alludes to Is. 52.5 and Ezk. 36.20 as he writes in Rom. 2.24, “For the name of
God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” It is as though he has
“unrepented” and so must be died for again, putting the Lord Jesus through the
agony again, and the bad testimony of a Christian who turns back from the Lord
makes him, the Lord Jesus, an object of scorn to unbelievers. As Luke puts it, “No
one, having put hand to plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
(9.62) The kingdom here is the millennial kingdom.
Whether or not one can lose salvation, vs. 7-9 give an illustration of what
happens when a Christian does not produce the fruit expected. Land that
consumes the rain freely given and produces a good crop is blessed, as a Christian
who receives the Holy Spirit (Jn. 7.37-39) and produces fruit (Jn. 15.1-8) is blessed,
but land that drinks the rain freely given and produces thorns and thistles is
disapproved and near a curse. The word for “disapproved” used here literally
means “not standing the test.” It is used ten times in the New Testament, including
Paul’s use of it in 1 Cor. 9.27, where he likens the Christian’s effort to go on with
the Lord to the end to a race in which the runners compete, and Paul says he
disciplines his body so that he will not fail the test, that is, miss his inheritance in
the kingdom. Thus one who does fail the test does not lose salvation, but loses
reward in the kingdom.
The end of v. 8 shows how dangerously close one who has thus failed the
test has come. Being cursed and burned would seem to indicate loss of salvation:
the one who turns back from the Lord Jesus as described in this passage has come
right up to the point of losing salvation, being cursed and burned. He will make it
to the kingdom, but as Paul puts it in 1 Cor. 3.15, “If any man\u2019s work be burned,
he will suffer loss, but he will be saved, but so as through fire.”
How much more strongly can Hebrews make its warning and exhortation?
Do not turn back from the Lord Jesus. Go on with him to fullness and to the end.
9But we have been convinced concerning you, beloved, of things better and
having to do with salvation, if we do speak so. 10For God is not unjust to forget
your work and the love which you showed for his name, having served and
serving the saints. 11But we want each of you to show the same diligence for the
full assurance of the hope until the end, 12that you may not become sluggish, but
imitators of those inheriting the promises through faith and longsuffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
warning that they might fall away, the writer of Hebrews now turns to a more
positive approach, “even if we do speak so.” That is, even if he has had to deliver
the scolding and warning. He tells his readers that he is convinced of better things
of them, things having to do with salvation. What things have to do with
salvation?
We could name many things: spiritual fruit (the fruits of the Spirit, people
led to the Lord), spiritual gifts (for ministry, not for self-advancement), a servant
heart, and so on. The passage under consideration lists a few. The writer adds that
God is not unjust, but will remember what has been accomplished so far, but it is
necessary for the readers to go on so as not to lose reward for what has been done.
In v. 10 the writer mentions his readers’ work, love, concern for the name,
and therefore reputation, of God, and service to the saints, past and ongoing. In v.
11 we see diligence, assurance, hope, and going on to the end. V. 12 calls for not
being sluggish, but for being diligent as in v. 11, faith, and longsuffering. The
implication is that if the readers will pursue these virtues, they will go on with the
Lord and thus inherit the promises, that is, the millennial blessings.
13For God having made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by
whom to swear, “he swore by himself” 14saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you
and multiplying I will multiply” you, [Gen. 22.16-17] 15and so having suffered
long he obtained the promise.
In vs. 13-15 we have the example of Abraham as one who obtained the
promises made by God through the faith and longsuffering mentioned in v. 12.
Abraham was seventy-five years old when God promised him a son, and he had
to wait till he was one hundred for the promise to be kept. Then God told him to
sacrifice that son. How the Lord dealt with Abraham, but what faith and
longsuffering were developed in him, and what promises he did indeed inherit.
We need to learn from Abraham that we need to go on with the Lord and not turn
away from him, because God keeps his word. We see the longsuffering in the fact
that Abraham waited the twenty-five years to receive what God promised, a son,
and we see the faith that was the foundation of the longsuffering in the trusting of
God that the promise would be kept for all those years.
It says here that the promise was, “Blessing I will bless you and multiplying
I will multiply you,” but the son was the basic promise. He was the means of the
blessing and the multiplying. And it did take faith to believe that word and hold
to it, for Abraham’s wife was too old to conceive and bear a child. Isaac was the
son of promise that figures in the New Testament teaching about the Lord Jesus,
(Mt. 1.1, Gal. 3.16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
word is enough, added to it an oath to reinforce the word. An oath is swearing by
something that guarantees what is sworn, such as swearing to tell the truth “so
help me God” in court, or our slang expression, “I swear on a stack of Bibles.” The
idea is that if the person is not telling the truth, what he swears on will hold him
accountable. God wanted to swear by something greater than himself, which is
always the case with men, but there is nothing greater than, or even as great as,
God, so he swore by himself.
16For men swear by one greater, and the oath for confirmation is an end of every
dispute among them, 17in which God, wanting more abundantly to show to the
heirs of salvation the unchangeableness of his counsel, interposed with an oath,
Hebrews continues this thought, pointing out that men swear by one
greater than they are and states that God wanted to reinforce his word. That desire
to reinforce what needed no reinforcement shows the importance of the truth
being conveyed. God conveys this truth by two unchangeable things, his word
and his oath. Now do you believe there will be a son of promise, typical of the
greater Son of promise, the promise to Abraham’s Seed, that is, the Lord Jesus (Gal.
3.16)? Without the Son of promise there is no salvation.
18that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we
having fled may have strong encouragement to lay hold of the hope being set
before us, 19which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm and entering
inside the veil, 20where a forerunner, Jesus, entered for us, having become High
Priest according to the order of Melchizedek into the age.
Now Hebrews states why the promise is so important and in doing so, he
states one of the great truths about God: he cannot lie. We can stake our very lives,
no, more, our eternal salvation, on what God says. He cannot lie, and he has
guaranteed this by two unchangeable things, his word and his oath. And what is
the purpose of such a strong guarantee? The hope set before us. God has promised
us eternal life and an inheritance in his kingdom, if we are worthy of it (2 Thess.
1.5). We who have fled to the Lord from this world, the devil, and our own flesh
and sin have hope of the greatest prospects anyone has ever had, living forever
with the Lord and reigning with him as his bride. Hebrews gives strong
encouragement to its readers by such a strong word from God to lay hold of this
hope set before us. It is in the face of the great difficulties they face and the very
real possibility of turning back from Christ to Judaism, and thus missing kingdom
glory, that Hebrews gives this strong encouragement. The danger, the temptation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
who cannot lie, and because of the added certainty of his oath. There are two kinds
of hope, man’s empty wishful thinking, and the sure hope that is based on God’s
word. This latter hope is virtually faith, believing and trusting in what God has
said. We have his word. We have his oath. Hope! Hope in God (Ps. 42.11, 43.5).
Hebrews says that we have this hope as an anchor of the soul. Keep in mind
that the soul is the psychological aspect of a person. When there are troubles we
tend to become worried, fearful, stressed out, even depressed. Our emotions can
get the better of us. One of the lessons we need to learn as Christians is that we
walk by faith. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 5.7 that we walk by faith, not by sight. We also
walk by faith, not by feelings. Emotions are unreliable and can be up and down
with the weather, our digestive system, hormones, a song, you name it. It is asking
for trouble to live by them. But the word of God is reliable and can be trusted
totally, and walking by faith is walking by what God says.
One of the most helpful lessons I have learned about faith came from D.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure (the chapter on
“Where is Your Faith?”). Lloyd-Jones points out that faith has to be exercised. It
doesn’t just happen. I think that I had always unknowingly assumed that if a
person was a Christian and believed God and was going on with him that faith
was somehow automatic. When something happens faith kicks in. Lloyd-Jones
uses the example of a thermostat. You set your faith on “have faith,” just as you set
your thermostat on 70. When the temperature drops below 70, the thermostat
turns on the heat. When something happens in your life that requires faith, the
faith-o-stat turns on the faith. No, it’s more like a wood fire. When the heat gets
too low you get up and throw another long on the fire. When the faith gets too
low, you deliberately exercise faith. You ask yourself what God’s word says about
the situation and you believe it and trust it. You realize that as Hebrews says here,
you have hope as an anchor of the soul. That determination to trust in what God
says gives you the hope that things will turn out for good, and that helps you to
keep your emotions in check. Faith is not automatic. It must be exercised.
This doesn’t mean that you should have no difficult emotions. There are
people who are by nature emotional, and all of us have some level of emotion. It
is natural to be angry, to grieve, to feel hurt, to feel some level of depression at
times. We were made that way by God and emotions have their rightful place.
They are like a meter that tells us how we are doing. If we are getting down under
our emotions, we know that it is time to throw another log on the faith fire. Search
the Scriptures. See what the Lord says about it. Trust him and his word. One word
from him that applies to every situation is Rom. 8.28-29: “But we know that for
those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called<\/p>\n\n\n\n
image of his Son\u2026.”
Be careful when your emotions are high also. It is wonderful to have those
great feelings, excitement, happiness, anticipation, and so forth. But they can be
dashed in a moment and you can come crashing down. Enjoy them, but don’t live
for them and don’t rely on them. Let sure hope that comes from faith in God’s word
anchor your soul.
Hebrews adds that this hope, sure and firm, enters inside the veil. This
imagery comes from the Tabernacle and temple. As noted earlier, no Israelite
could enter the Holy of Holies except the High Priest, and he could do so only once
a year on the Day of Atonement. Even Moses could not enter the Holy of Holies.
But when the Lord Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom (Mk. 15.38). It is obvious that it was God who tore the veil, opening it up
for all who would come by faith in the Lord Jesus to enter in. Do you realize that
you always live in the presence of God? You are always in the Holy of Holies. You
are where Moses could not go. Our hope enters inside the veil to the very throne
and presence of God.
G. Campbell Morgan writes,
An arresting word in this connection is the word \u201cForerunner.\u201d It
marks a difference between Christ\u2019s passing within the veil, and everything
that had preceded it in the ritual of the Hebrew people. Aaron had entered
within the veil once a year, but never as a forerunner. He entered as the
representative of those left outside. But they were always left outside. No
one followed Aaron when he entered within the veil to stand in the
presence of the ark and the mercy-seat. When Jesus passed within the veil,
He went as a Forerunner, which at once suggested that the way was open
for others to follow Him. He was the Seed in which, and through which, all
nations were to be blessed; and He had made it possible for all those who
were His to pass with Him into the same place. That surely was the
symbolic suggestiveness of the rending of the veil when He died. (76-77)
This sure hope that enters inside the veil and her big sister faith are
ultimately the secret of our holding on in times of trial. Whatever our
circumstances on earth may be, Paul tells us in Eph. 2.6 that we are seated with
Christ in the heavenlies. We live in two worlds, the earth we are in physically and
the heavenly, spiritual world where we are seated in Christ. Because our High
Priest has entered inside this veil, we have too, in him. As we hold to this truth we
find ourselves being strengthened to go on with the Lord to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
incomprehensible future, the kingdom and then Heaven; and a great present, the
reality of God in our lives now.
The Lord Jesus went there first as our forerunner, though he did not enter
the physical temple in Jerusalem, but the real one in Heaven, as we will see later.
And he took not the blood of bulls and goats, but his own blood. Why? Because he
has become a High Priest. But he could not be a High Priest, for he was born of the
tribe of Judah, and only those born of the tribe of Levi and descended from Aaron
(Num. 18.1-7) could be priests. But this is a new, or rather a very old, order of
priesthood, the order of Melchizedek. We have seen a couple of mentions of this
Melchizedek along the way, as though the writer could not wait to get to him, and
now we are there. The next chapter of Hebrews deals with him and his priesthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 7.1-8.6<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and having blessed him, 2
to
whom also Abraham divided a tenth of all,” [Gen. 14.17-20] first, being
translated, king of righteousness, then also king of Salem, which is king of
peace, 3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but having been made like the Son of God,
remains a priest perpetually.
The first ten verses of Heb. 7 deal with Melchizedek, vs. 1-3 with his person,
and vs. 4-10 with his greatness. Melchizedek is one of those figures of mystery in
the Old Testament. His story is covered in a very few verses in Genesis, three in
fact, Gen. 14.18-20, and his only other mention in the Bible outside Hebrews is in
Ps. 110.4. We are told almost nothing about him, yet he is considered by the writer
to the Hebrews to have had great significance.
In Gen. 14 Abraham and his 318 men went to rescue his nephew Lot from
four kings who had made war on Lot’s city, Sodom, and had taken him captive.
On his return from the defeat of the kings Abraham was met by Melchizedek, king
of Salem and priest of God Most High, who blessed him and received a tenth of
the spoils of war from him. That is most of what we are told in Genesis. Heb. 7.2
adds to this information the fact that Melchizedek’s name by translation means
“king of righteousness,” and that “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Then v. 3
concludes from the lack of information that Melchizedek was without father and<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
abiding perpetually. Note that the main sentence of vs. 1-3 is, \u201cFor this
Melchizedek remains a priest perpetually.\u201d Everything else is explanatory. Thus
he is a picture of Christ in the Old Testament. The writer plainly says that
Melchizedek was made like the Son of God. The Lord Jesus came first. He is
eternal. He was not made like Melchizedek, but Melchizedek like him.
4See how great this one is, to whom Abraham gave a tenth of the best of the
spoils \u2013 the patriarch! 5And those who are of the sons of Levi, receiving the
priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to
the law, that is, their brothers, even though having come out of the loins of
Abraham. 6But one not having a genealogy from them has received tithes from
Abraham and has blessed the one having the promises. 7Now without any
dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8And here dying [i.e., mortal] men
receive tithes, but there one having received testimony that he lives. 9And, so to
speak, through Abraham even Levi the one receiving tithes paid tithes, 10for he
was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Having given us this personal description of Melchizedek, Hebrews goes
on to tell us of his greatness. Its first point is that Abraham paid him a tithe. (It is
interesting that the Greek word translated \u201cthe best of the spoils\u201d literally means
\u201cat the top of the heap.\u201d) The Old Testament law provided that the tribe of Levi,
the priestly tribe, should collect tithes from the rest of Israel, but here is their
ancestor Abraham paying tithes to one who is not descended from Levi. Thus Levi
and his descendants figuratively paid tithes to Melchizedek because he was “in the
loins” of Abraham when he paid the tithes to him. And of course the lesser pays
tithes to the greater. Thus the greatness of Melchizedek is shown by his having
received tithes from those Israelites who were authorized to receive tithes.
The second way in which the greatness of Melchizedek is seen is in the fact
that he blessed Abraham, and “without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the
greater.” Abraham is considered very great in Jewish history. He is the founder of
the race. Yet as great as he was he was blessed by a greater, Melchizedek.
The third evidence of Melchizedek’s greatness is his unending life. Hebrews
points this out in v. 3 in the personal description, and now emphasizes it in v. 8.
As great as Abraham was, he died and was buried and the Jews knew the place of
his burial. There is no record of the death of Melchizedek, and thus he pictures one
who lives eternally, and that one, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. How great
indeed this man was.
With this description of Melchizedek and his greatness, Hebrews now goes
on to deal with the superiority of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus to that of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
this superiority.
11If then perfection were through the Levitical priesthood, for on [the basis of]
it the people have been given the law, why is there still need for another priest
to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not to be named according
to the order of Aaron? 12For the priesthood being changed, by necessity there
is also a change of law. 13For the one of whom these things are said has belonged
to another tribe, from which no one has attended the altar. 14For it is clear that
our Lord has arisen from Judah, of which tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
15And it is still more abundantly clear, if another priest arises according to the
likeness of Melchizedek, 16who has come not according to a law of fleshly
commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is
testified, \u201cYou are a priest into the age according to the order of Melchizedek.\u201d
[Ps. 110.4] 18For there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its
weakness and uselessness 19(for the law perfected nothing), but the entering in
of a better hope through which we draw near to God.
20And just as it was not without an oath (for they have become priests
without an oath, 21but he with an oath through the one saying to him, \u201cThe Lord
swore and his mind will not be changed, \u2018You are a priest into the age.\u2019\u201d) [Ps.
110.4],
22in the same way Jesus has become guarantor of a better covenant. 23And
the priests have become many because of being prevented by death from
remaining, 24but he, because he remains into the age, has an inviolable
priesthood. 25Therefore also he is able to save forever those coming through him
to God, always living to intercede for them.
I will be jumping around in this chapter because the teachings given are
spread through the whole, rather than verse by verse. Let us note here that all
priests in Israel had to be born of the tribe of Levi and descended from Aaron.
Aaron was the brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel, appointed by
God (Ex. 28.1). The rest of those born of Levi, but not descended from Aaron, were
called Levites and were the assistants of the priests as they performed their priestly
duties (see Num. 18.1-7). In v. 11 Hebrews implies that the Levitical priesthood,
the priesthood of Israel, could not bring perfection, and this is stated plainly in v.
19: “\u2026 for the law perfected nothing\u2026.” V. 18 says very boldly that the law and its
priesthood were weak and useless. That was a strong statement to Jewish
Christians who still loved their Jewish heritage. This passage gives the reasons for
its weakness and uselessness. One is in vs. 26-28 where we are told that the priests
under the law were weak, that is sinful. They had to offer sacrifices for their own
sins before they could offer for the sins of the people. The priests were unable to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
provisions of God for covering over sins until someone came along who could do
away with them. This weakness of the priests because of sin carried over into
death, as v. 23 says. There were many priests because they all died and had to be
replaced. None of that host of priests was able to take away sins.
The second reason for the weakness and uselessness of the Levitical
priesthood is given in 8.2. It was not carried out in the true Tabernacle. The
teaching of Hebrews is that the Tabernacle on earth was only a copy of the real
thing. The true Tabernacle is in Heaven. The Tabernacle represents the dwelling
place of God, but he does not dwell in houses made with hands, as Acts 7.48 makes
clear. His true dwelling is in Heaven. But the Levitical priests could not go into the
true Tabernacle in Heaven to perform their duties, but only into its copy, the
earthly Tabernacle. Since they could work only in a copy and not in the true
Tabernacle, they worked under a weak priesthood.
Since it is true that the Levitical priesthood was weak and useless and could
not bring its subjects to perfection, that is, do away with their sins, it was necessary
for another priesthood to appear. V. 11 points this out and begins to lead us into
the real significance of Melchizedek. This verse asks why it was necessary for
another priesthood to arise “according to the order of Melchizedek.” This
quotation is from Ps. 110.4, where it is prophesied of the Lord Jesus that he would
be a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. What is the meaning of
this new order of priesthood?
V. 12 tells us that there must be a change of the law if there is a change of
priesthood, for the law is what prescribed the Levitical priesthood. Vs. 13-14
inform us that the specific change required concerns the tribe from which the
priests come. Under the law the priests came from the tribe of Levi. No one from
any other tribe could be a priest. But the Lord Jesus, the High Priest with whom
Hebrews deals, came from the tribe of Judah. Therefore he could not be a priest
under the law of Israel, as Heb. 8.4 states, but since he is a priest, it must be under
a new order, and that order is the order of Melchizedek.
A further distinction between this new priesthood and the old is that, like
Melchizedek, the Lord Jesus is both King and Priest. Under the law the kings were
from the tribe of Judah and the priests were from the tribe of Levi, and the two
could not be mixed. It was impossible for anyone to be both king and priest, for he
would have had to have been born of two tribes. But Melchizedek was king and
priest, and so is the Lord Jesus. Thus the priesthood of the Lord Jesus involves a
change of law, and is according to the order of Melchizedek.
Finally, under the law the basis of priesthood was a physical requirement,
birth in the tribe of Levi and descent from Aaron. A priest was a priest by birth,
whether he wanted to be or not, whether he was fitted for such service or not,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to be a priest could not become one. Its basis was physical, birth in the right tribe
and family. But the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is not based
on physical birth, but on eternal life. V. 16 tells us that the Lord Jesus became a
Priest “according to the power of an indestructible life,” and vs. 23-25 draw out this
point, telling us that unlike the Levitical priests who died and had to be replaced,
the Lord Jesus abides forever and thus never gives up his priesthood. V. 25 gets to
the crux of the whole matter. Because all this is true of the Lord Jesus, he is able to
save those who come to God through him. That is what the Levitical priests could
not do. They could only cover over sins, not do away with them and thus save the
sinners. The Lord Jesus is able, not to hide sins for a time, but to do away with
them. That is, he is able to save. And not just save, but save utterly and forever.
He always lives to make intercession for us. This is one of the most comforting
statements in all the Bible. Whatever we are up against, we know that the Lord
Jesus, who went through it himself (Heb. 2.17-18, 4.15), intercedes for us. We can
endure whatever trial we face because of our heavenly Intercessor (see also 1 Cor.
10.13).
So the significance of the new priesthood according to the order of
Melchizedek is that it is able to take away sins and thus save the sinners because
it is based on the sinlessness of its Priest, on indestructible life, and on the fact that
it ministers in the true Tabernacle, not in a copy. The Lord Jesus is in Heaven today
for you and me, not in a tent on earth. He is our High Priest who was able to offer
a perfect sacrifice in the very presence of God in Heaven, the sacrifice of himself,
which was accepted by God, resulting in our salvation. And he is more than a
Priest. He is our coming King and our Priest, not limited by the old law to
kingship, since he was born of the tribe of Judah. He is under a new order and can
be Priest as well as King. What blessed people we are to have such a Priest and
such a King. He is able to minister perfectly and to rule perfectly.
And what is the real basis for all this? The prophetic words of Gen. 14.18
tell us, “And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine.” Now a
priest does not bring forth bread and wine. He brings forth blood. But Melchizedek
was a priest of a different order. He brought forth not the blood of bulls and goats,
but prophetic pictures of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is not based on the sacrifice
of animals, but on self-sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus gave himself, a perfect Sacrifice,
symbolized for us even today by the bread and wine prophetically brought forth
by Melchizedek over two thousand years before Christ even appeared in the flesh.
Our Lord gave himself for us. He is the Bread of life, giving his body, symbolized
by the bread, for us and the one who shed his blood of the new covenant for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Savior we have. How we praise him!
26For such a High Priest is also fitting for us, respectful, innocent,
undefiled, having been separated from the sinners, and having become higher
than the heavens, 27who does not have the necessity, day by day, as the high
priests, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins, then those of the people, for
this he did once for all having offered himself. 28For the law appoints as high
priests men having weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the
law, a Son, having been made perfect into the age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the
heavens, 2Minister of the Holy of Holies and of the true tent, which the Lord
pitched, not man. 3For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.
Therefore it is necessary for this one also to have something that he might offer.
4
If then he were on earth he would not be a priest, there being those offering the
gifts according to law, 5who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as
Moses has been admonished being about to complete the tent, \u201cFor see,” he says,
\u201cyou shall make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the
mountain.\u201d [Ex. 25.40] 6But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry by as
much as he is also Mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on
better promises.
This section of Hebrews closes with a summary in 7.26-8.6. V. 26 gives a
personal description of the Lord Jesus: he is respectful, innocent, undefiled,
separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. The Greek word for
“respectful” is translated by “holy” in some versions, but the word in this verse is
a different word from the usual one for \u201choly.\u201d The usual word basically means
different and unique and implies separation for God’s service when applied to
man. The word used here connotes respect for the requirements of God. The Lord
Jesus is the one who knows what God requires and respects him in such a way
that he perfectly fulfills those requirements. “Innocent” and “undefiled” restate the
fact of his sinlessness. And he is separated from sinners in that he is without sin,
yet he is the friend of sinners (Mt. 11.19) and the one who became sin for us (2 Cor.
5.21).
V. 28 reiterates what we said about the Lord Jesus offering himself. His
sacrifice for sins was a self-sacrifice, and it ended the need to offer daily sacrifices
because, since it was perfect, it accomplished their purpose once-for-all. Then v.
28 tells us that unlike the priests under the law, the Lord Jesus was a Son. This
further emphasizes the idea of self-sacrifice, for it shows that God himself was<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
have a great, loving Father who gave his Son, the dearest treasure of his heart, for
you and me. Because of all this, this Son is made perfect forever.
Heb. 8.1 says that “the main point in what has been said: we have such a
High Priest\u2026.” We have such a High Priest. WE HAVE SUCH A HIGH PRIEST!
All that Hebrews says is myth and fairy tale if we do not actually have such a High
Priest, but we do! He did all that Hebrews says he did, and he sat down at the right
hand of God in Heaven, showing that his work for our salvation is complete.
V. 2: The Lord Jesus is “minister of the holy of holies and of the true tent,
which the Lord pitched, not man.” The Lord Jesus also has a ministry superior to
that of any other, angelic or human, Levitical or any other kind. He is the Minister.
Vs. 3-5 summarize what we have already dealt with regarding the ministry
of the Lord Jesus in the true Tabernacle in Heaven rather than in a copy on earth,
and then v. 6 closes the passage with a statement that leads into the next thought
taken up by Hebrews, the superior covenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of what I consider to be the great importance of the Priesthood
according to the order of Melchizedek, and the failure of most Christian leaders to
teach it, and the lack of knowledge of most Christians about it, I will insert here a
somewhat lengthy note about it. This theme runs through the Bible from Genesis
to Revelation and it clearly shows the mind of God with regard to priesthood, yet
we seldom hear of it. Herewith my thoughts on the Priesthood according to the
order of Melchizedek.
It is a generally accepted principle of Bible interpretation that the first use
of a term sets its meaning for the rest of the Bible. Exceptions to this rule could
probably be found, but it is often the case. The first use of the word “priest” in the
Bible is in Gen. 14.18 and the priest there introduced is Melchizedek, so he is the
first priest in the Bible. The use of the word “priest” here with reference to
Melchizedek shows us God’s original idea of priesthood, an idea that was replaced
for many centuries by a lesser idea put in place for a time of failure among God’s
people (see Ex. 20.19, quoted just below, and Gal. 3.19, 23-26, Heb. 9.8-10), but
revived with the coming of the Lord Jesus and to be in place forever.
Before dealing with this passage, let us begin with a passage that I consider
to be one of the very few absolutely foundational statements in the Bible. It is Ex.
19.5-6, words of God to Israel: \u201cNow therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed
and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all
peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
over. It was God’s desire at the outset for his kingdom to be a kingdom of priests.
Now this is an absolutely creative and revolutionary concept. Every religion
throughout history has had a few priests who were the only ones who could come
into contact with God, with all the mass of people having to go to them to learn
about God (or a god or the gods) and to know what he required of them.
Christianity is the only faith (it is not a religion) that has as one of its tenets that all
God’s people are priests, and even some so-called Christian denominations have
re-established a priestly class, one of the very things Christ came to abolish, indeed
died to abolish.
Thus we see that the Levitical priesthood of Israel was not God’s original
concept for priesthood. It was never God’s desire to have a few priests and a mass
of non-priests. He wants every one of his people to appear before him in the Holy
of Holies, indeed to live there! We are always in God’s very presence. He wants a
kingdom of priests. The Levitical priesthood was brought in because the people
were afraid of God and asked Moses for it: “You speak to us and we will listen, but
don’t let God speak to us or we will die.” (Ex. 20.19) But Jeremiah prophesied a
new covenant under which all God’s people would know him, that is, be priests
(Jer. 31.34, Heb. 8.11).
We see this principle of the kingdom of priests all through the Bible. As
noted above the first passage in the Bible that contains the word “priest” is Gen.
14.17-20:
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him [Abraham], after his return
from the smiting of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the
valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem
brought forth bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. And he
blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, possessor of
heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your
enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tenth of all.
Again, it is a generally accepted rule of Bible interpretation that the first mention
of a matter defines its use throughout the Bible. At the first mention of the word
“priest” we find that it refers to a king who was also a priest. This could not be in
Judaism, for there all kings came from the tribe of Judah and all priests came from
the tribe of Levi. But notice something else: This king-priest, Melchizedek by
name, brought forth bread and wine. Never in the Bible did a priest bring forth
bread and wine, with two exceptions. All the priests brought forth the blood of
animals. Since they were themselves sinners, they could not offer their own blood
to God, so God gave them a symbolic system of blood sacrifice to cover their sins<\/p>\n\n\n\n
would have been turned away.
But there were two exceptions, and you know what they are. The first is
Melchizedek, presented here in this passage. The second is the Lord Jesus, who
could offer his own blood, and his own body, because he was without sin. At his
last supper with his disciples he, like Melchizedek, brought forth bread and wine,
symbols of his own body and blood, proving that he was a priest of a different
order from the Levitical priests of Judaism, a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
We encounter this Melchizedek again in Ps. 110.4: “The LORD has sworn and
will not change his mind: you art a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek.” Why does Melchizedek pop up again all this time after Gen. 14?
These are the only two places in the Old Testament where he is mentioned. In this
psalm, the Lord Jesus has risen victorious from the grave and ascended into
Heaven. God says to him, in v. 1, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies
your footstool.” The Lord Jesus is to sit at the throne of his Father until the time for
him to return to this earth and take its throne. A throne is taken by a king, but in
v. 4 of this psalm God tells Jesus that he is a priest. That is, he is the fulfillment of
God’s original idea of kingdom and priesthood, just as Melchizedek was, king (of
righteousness, the meaning of his name, and king of peace – Salem = shalom), and
priest of God Most High. Is there a better description of the Lord Jesus?
Let us move on to Zech. 6.11-15:
\u2026 [T]ake silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua
the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and speak to him, saying, “Thus says
I AM of hosts, ‘Look, a man whose name is Branch, for he will branch out
from where he is; and He will build the temple of I AM. Yes, he will build
the temple of I AM and he will bear the glory, and will sit and rule on his
throne. And he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will
be between them both’ [office of priest and office of king]. And the crown
will be memorial in the temple of I AM to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen
the son of Zephaniah. Those who are far off will come and build in the
temple of I AM.” Then you will know that I AM of hosts has sent me
to you. And it will take place if you completely obey I AM your God.
A priest on his throne? Impossible! This is Israel, where no Levite could sit
on the throne of Judah. Ah, but this is not ancient Israel, but prophecy of the
coming kingdom. The Branch is the Lord Jesus, King and Priest. “He will build the
temple of the Lord”: Jesus said, “I will build my church.” “Gentiles will come and
build in the temple of the Lord”? Impossible! No Gentile could enter the temple on
pain of death. Ah, but this is prophecy of the coming kingdom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
uncircumcision by what is called circumcision, made with hands in the
flesh, that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the people
of Israel and strangers of the covenants of promise, not having hope and
without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far
off have become near by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2.11-13)
What a thought, that Gentiles will not only be in the house of God, but will BE the
house of God (Eph. 2.19-22). And more – they will build in the house of God. The
Lord Jesus said he would build his church, but here Paul writes that we will build
with him as his fellow workers (see also 1 Cor. 3.9). We are blessed by God to
participate in the building of his house. And when he comes to fill that house with
his glory, we will be there! Glory! This is the kingdom of God according to his
original idea, with the King-Priest on his throne and with his kingdom of priests
gathered around him, ministering to him.
We move on to Hebrews. In 5.5-6, 10, the first reference to Melchizedek in
Hebrews and in the New Testament, the author writes,
Thus also Christ did not glorify himself to become a High Priest, but the
one who said to him, \u201cYou are my Son. Today I have begotten you,\u201d [Ps.
2.7] as he also says in another passage, \u201cYou are a priest into the age [literal
Greek, meaning “forever”] according to the order of Melchizedek.”
This last quotation comes, of course, from Ps. 110.4, which we have already
considered. Hebrews is the book that tells us plainly that the Lord Jesus has
fulfilled the prophecy of Ps. 110. Melchizedek was the type; the Lord Jesus is the
antitype, the reality that fulfills the symbol given by the type.
Heb. 6.20 restates this thought, and then the entire seventh chapter of
Hebrews is devoted to this theme. We will not quote or expound a passage of that
length, our purpose being only to point out that the Lord Jesus is both Priest and
King according to God’s original idea of priesthood and kingship, but it would
benefit the reader to go through the entire chapter prayerfully and thoughtfully.
We will quote 10.11-13, where Hebrews one last time refers to Ps. 110:
And every priest stood day by day ministering and offering the same
sacrifices repeatedly, which can never take away sins, but this one, having
offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, “sat down at the right hand of
God,” from then on waiting “until his enemies be made a footstool for his
feet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
work finished his work in that regard. That one sacrifice of himself did what 1500
years of sacrifices by the Levitical priests could never do – it took away sins. We
can be forgiven, finally, once-for-all, forgiven, through the blood of the Lord Jesus.
Praise to our great High Priest who did this work, and to our great King, who sits
on the throne waiting for the coming of his kingdom, for which we also wait with
deep longing. Yes, come, Lord Jesus.
Peter adds a word to this thought in his first epistle 2.5: “\u2026 you also as
living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Though Peter does not
mention Melchizedek or a new order of priesthood, this verse must refer to such,
for in Israel we could not be a holy priesthood. In the first place, none of us Gentile
Christians are physical Jews, required to be a priest, and none of us are Levites
(some physical Jews may be, but are probably unable to prove it; see Ezr. 2.61-63).
This is the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, in which we are all
priests. And we actually make up the house referred to. It is a spiritual house,
made up of God’s people. He doesn’t dwell in houses made by hands (Acts 7.48,
see Is. 66.1-2), but in his people.
The last mentions of this train of thought come in Revelation, and they bring
out what is one of my pet peeves! The King James Version of the Bible says in Rev.
1.6 and 5.10 that we are “kings and priests to God.” This translation is based on a
very limited number of Greek manuscripts of Revelation. You will notice that every
modern version of the Bible, without exception, I believe, says in these verses that
we are “a kingdom, priests” to God. This translation is based on many more
manuscripts, and more ancient manuscripts, of Revelation. Every time I hear
someone say that we are kings and priests, I want to jump up a shout, “No we are
not! We are a kingdom of priests! Kings and priests” misses the whole point.”
Someday maybe I will do it!
The King James Version misses the whole point of this line of thought
beginning in Ex. 19.5-6. God does not want a kingdom of kings. He wants a
kingdom of priests. A kingdom is not a large collection of kings. It is one king with
many subjects of that king. The Lord Jesus is the King and we are his subjects, and
in the case of this kingdom, he is also High Priest and we are all priests, a kingdom
of priests, just as God stated to Israel that he wanted to begin with 3500 years ago.
It is the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, God’s original idea of
both his kingdom and his priesthood.
We are dealing with the kingdom of God in the present work, and
specifically with the kind of kingdom it is. We said above that Ex. 19.5-6 defines
the kind of kingdom God wants, namely, a kingdom of priests, and that this idea<\/p>\n\n\n\n
through the Bible to this point, Rev. 1.6 and 5.10, and here we see the culmination,
the final realization, of this thought of God. We believers are all now priests to God
according to the order of Melchizedek, but we will see the full functioning and
glory of that priesthood in the millennial kingdom when the Lord Jesus returns
and takes the throne to reign for a thousand years as King and High Priest in a
kingdom of priests. And then on into eternity to see the continuous unfolding of
that magnificent idea of our God, a kingdom of priests. And isn\u2019t it interesting that
Is. 61.6, addressed to the Jews, says, \u201cBut you will be called the priests of I AM\u201d?
Bless his Name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to the one on Earth
Heb. 8.7-9.28
7For if that first were faultless, place would not have been sought for a second.
Having brought us thus far in his consideration of the superiority of Christ
to Judaism, the writer of Hebrews now takes up the matter of the covenant. It is
unfortunate that we use the word “testament” for the two divisions of our Bible,
for the original word was “covenant.” Our Bible is divided into the Old Covenant
and the New Covenant. The idea of covenant is of great importance in the Old
Covenant. God made various covenants, with Abraham, with the nation of Israel,
and so forth. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, much like a legal
contract today. In a contract two parties agree to perform certain obligations and
enjoy certain benefits as a result. The difference between a modern legal contract
and a covenant in the Bible is that a contract is an agreement between equals, but
a covenant was an agreement between God and men. God required the keeping of
the covenant and obligated himself to do certain things for men if they did keep it.
If they did not they were liable to judgment.
God had a covenant with Israel, but there was a problem with it. The
problem was that it failed. We will deal with the reason for the failure when we
come to v. 9, but for now let us understand that it is the failure that brings the
writer of Hebrews to the present point in his epistle. When he says in v. 7 that if
the first covenant had been faultless there would have been no need for a new one,
he thereby implies the failure of the old covenant. Then he goes into a quotation
from Jer. 31.31-34 in which he points out this failure and describes the new
covenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘and I will complete with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new
covenant, 9not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers on the
day of my taking hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, for
they did not remain in my covenant and I did not care for them,’ says the Lord.
10’For this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after
those days,’ says the Lord, ‘giving my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I
will write them. And I will be to them God and they will be to me a people.
11And they will in no wise teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother
saying, “Know the Lord,” for they will all know me, from the small to the great
of them, 12for I will be merciful to their unrighteous deeds and I will remember
their sins no more.'” [Jer. 31.31-34]
By quoting Jeremiah the writer is making the point to his readers, the Jewish
Christians who are considering turning away from Christ and back to Judaism,
that their Scriptures themselves, the Jewish Scriptures, what we call the Old
Testament, recognized the failure of the old covenant and prophesied the coming
of a new one. He says that the new one has come.
Quoting Jer. 31.31 he writes, “‘Behold days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘and
I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new
covenant.'” Before going into an analysis of this new covenant, let us first note this
word “new.” There are two Greek words for our word “new.” (There are actually
three, but one is used only once, so is not one of the usual words. That one use is
in Hebrews and we will consider it when we come to chapter 10, verse 29.) One is
neos, from which we get our English prefix “neo-,” and it implies newness in time.
A good example would be fresh eggs. An egg is like any other egg and there is no
difference between one egg and another except that one came later in time and so
is fresher. The other Greek word is kainos. Its meaning is not newness in time, but
newness in quality. It connotes something different, something of a different kind.
That is the word used in Heb. 8.8 for the covenant. The idea is that God is doing
something entirely new and different. He is not just refurbishing the old covenant.
He is making an entirely new covenant of a different kind. That difference will
come out as we go along.
This new covenant is with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It
appears from this statement that it is only with Jews. But we know from experience
that the Jewish people have rejected this new covenant as well as the old, and that
Gentiles have been brought into the good of it. Thus we must look for another
explanation. That explanation is ready to hand and is simple. Paul tells us about it
in several passages, beginning with Rom. 2.28-29: “For the Jew is not the Jew
outwardly, neither is circumcision outward in the flesh, but the Jew is the Jew in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
from men, but from God.”
The explanation continues in Rom. 9.6-8:
It is not as though the word of God had failed, for not all who are of Israel
are Israel, neither are the seed of Abraham all children, but, “In Isaac will
your seed be called.” That is, the children of the flesh are not children of
God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed.
Finally, we may add Gal. 3.6-7: “Abraham had faith in God and it was
credited to him as righteousness. Therefore know that those who are of faith are
sons of Abraham.”
The point is clear. Israel has become a spiritual concept to God. Indeed it
always has been. The idea of Israel means the people of God, and his people are
those who have faith in him, who are children of promise, not of law, and who are
Jews in their hearts, not necessarily in their bodies. Abraham was a man of faith
before the law was given, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Those
who have faith in God today are his spiritual descendants and thus are true Jews.
This does not mean that God has abandoned the Jews as a physical race. They will
yet come into all that God promised them in the Old Testament, and the new
covenant will be with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, with those of
those houses who have faith in their Messiah, the Lord Jesus, but in his grace God
has included in his people all who will come to him in faith. Thus Christians are
true Jews. The new covenant is for all. Whosoever will may come.
V. 9 says that this new covenant is not like the old covenant. It is not like it
in that the old covenant failed, and there was a reason for that failure. The reason
is that the keeping of it depended on the ability of man to do so. In Ex. 19.5 God
told Moses that if Israel would keep his covenant with them, they would be his
special possessions among all the nations. Their hasty reply in v. 8 was, “All that I
AM has spoken we will do.” Without considering the weakness of their flesh,
without seeking the strength of the Lord, Israel boldly declared in confidence in
the flesh that they would keep the covenant. The covenant was bound up with the
law. The covenant was that if Israel would keep the law, God would insure their
possession of the land of promise, protect them from their enemies and from
disease, and provide for them. The problem was that the law was an external
requirement that depended on the natural ability of men for its keeping. As with
all men, the Israelites were unable to keep the law, and thus the old covenant
failed.
This brings us to the genius of the new covenant, actually the genius of God.
The old covenant failed because it was external to man and depended on his ability<\/p>\n\n\n\n
minds and hearts. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit he puts within us “both to
will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2.13). God internalizes the law and gives
us the power to keep it, though it is not a list of commandments that we keep, but
a relationship with him that we walk in. It is a new way of life. Paul tells us that if
we love our neighbors as ourselves, we have fulfilled the law, for love does not
wrong people (Rom. 13.8-10). That is, he changes our hearts. The new covenant is
not in law, but in heart. We keep his new covenant not by the effort of the flesh,
but by the indwelling energizing of the Spirit of God.
V. 11 goes on to describe to us a wonderful feature of this new covenant. It
tells us that all God’s people will know him. Under the old covenant only the
priests could come into the presence of God, and even that was at a distance except
for the annual visit of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies on the Day of
Atonement. God’s people had to worship him at a distance, outside the
Tabernacle, separated from his righteous presence by a fence of law. But under the
new covenant we have boldness to enter the Holy of Holies and enjoy the very
presence of God. Israel worshipped outside the veil, but as we have already seen
in Heb. 6.19, we have a hope that enters within the veil. We are a people who are
blessed to know our God.
V.12 gives us the reason for this great blessing. It is that the sin problem has
been dealt with. We have been seeing already in Hebrews that the whole problem
with Judaism was that it could never take away sins. It could only cover them over
with the blood of bulls and goats. But the Lord Jesus did the work that did not
cover sins over for a time, but took them away eternally. In him the thing that kept
us from God has been removed. We can experience forgiveness of our sins, and
thus we can enter the Holy of Holies. God has forgotten about our sins!
Saphir points out that forgiveness of our sins is the beginning and
foundation of all spiritual blessings. He writes,
Sin is removed, and we are brought nigh to God, and thus enter into the
possession of all spiritual blessings. If we look at this most elementary and
simple truth, the first which little children are taught (1 John 2.12), we find
it contains the germ of all truths. Hence all our progress in the divine life,
and all the consolations of the Christian pilgrim, are rooted in this primary
doctrine of forgiveness through faith in Jesus\u2026. When in Christ we receive
the forgiveness of sin, we behold God. (II, 506-507)
13In saying, “New,” he has declared the first old. Now what is becoming old and
aging is near to disappearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
is replacing it. Then he moves on to a more detailed description of the Tabernacle.
The old covenant and the law were bound up together. The agreement was
that Israel would keep the law and God would bless Israel. The law that Israel was
to keep provided for the Tabernacle, a tent in which God would dwell in the midst
of Israel. It was the center of the system of sacrifice and worship. Heb. 9.1-10 deals
with the Tabernacle, vs. 1-5 with its physical layout, vs. 6-7, with what went on
there, and vs. 8-10, with its imperfection.
9.1The first then also had regulations of worship and the worldly Holy Place.
2For the first tent was prepared in which were the lampstand and the table and
the presentation of the bread, which is called the Holy Place. 3Now after the
second veil was a tent called Holy of Holies, 4having a golden altar of incense
and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which were the
golden jar having the manna and Aaron’s rod that budded and the tablets of the
covenant, 5and above it were the cherubs of glory overshadowing the mercy seat,
about which there is not time now to speak in detail.
The Tabernacle area consisted of an open courtyard approximately 75 x 150
feet with a tent inside it. The tent measured 15 x 45 feet and had two rooms. The
outer room, 15 x 30 feet, was called the Holy Place, and the inner room, a perfect
cube 15 x15 x 15, was the Holy of Holies. In the outer room were a table containing
bread, a lampstand, and an altar of incense. [The tabernacle consisted of two
chambers: the foremost and larger of the two, called the sanctuary, and an inner
one, called the holiest of all. The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary at Heb. 9.1] All of
these had symbolic significance. We as Christians believe they pointed to Christ.
The table was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, thus picturing the
humanity and divinity of Christ. On this table was bread, laid before God. The
complete picture is of the divine Lord coming in the flesh as the Bread of life.
The lampstand was of pure gold. Again the gold symbolized the divinity of
Christ. The seven lamps it contained show us him as the perfect Light of the world,
seven being a number of perfection in the Bible. As our divine Lord, he is indeed
the Light of the world, which points us to salvation and direction in our walk with
God.
The altar of incense was also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, again
speaking of the humanity and divinity of the Lord Jesus. The burning of incense
and its rising up to Heaven picture the worship, prayer, and devotion of the Lord
Jesus to his Father and his other pleasing qualities. We often hear that the incense
is the prayers of the saints, probably because of Rev. 8.3, but everything in the
Tabernacle points to the Lord Jesus in some way. Eph. 5.2 says that Christ was “an<\/p>\n\n\n\n
just delighted with his Son. Remember that he said that the Lord Jesus was his
beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. The incense with its fragrant smell
shows us those qualities of the Lord Jesus that were pleasing to God, a pleasant
aroma to him.
Separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was a veil, and that veil
also shows our Lord Jesus to us. It was made of blue, purple, scarlet, and white
linen, all colors that minister to us various aspects of the perfection of our Lord.
Blue tells of his heavenly origin, purple, of his divine royalty, scarlet of his shed
blood, and white linen, of his purity and righteous deeds. Inside this veil, in the
Holy of Holies, was the Ark of the Covenant, a box made of acacia wood overlaid
with gold and containing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden jar
of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. On the Ark was a mercy seat of pure gold,
the throne of God, his dwelling place among the people of Israel. Above it were
two cherubs of God with their wings spread in glory over the Ark. All of this
continues to speak to us of Christ. The Ark again tells us of his humanity and
divinity in the wood and the gold, and its contents speak to us of various aspects
of his nature, the law, of his perfect obedience to God and his fulfilling of the law
by love, the golden jar of manna, of his provision for his people as the Bread of life
in the wilderness of this world, and Aaron’s rod that budded, of resurrection life.
Saphir, recalling Heb. 7.16, \u201caccording to the power of an indestructible life,\u201d
writes,
It contained also the rod of Aaron that budded, whereby God confirmed
the election of Aaron and his sons to be priests unto Him. This is a beautiful
and striking type of Him who is Priest according to the power of an endless
life, of Him who was dead, and, behold, he liveth forevermore, of the Rod
out of the stem of Jesse, of the Man whose name is the Branch, and who
shall be a Priest upon His throne. (II, 559)
It is in Christ that God dwells among his people and is enthroned among them.
In the Old Testament it is clear that the golden altar of incense was in the
Holy Place, but Hebrews in this passage seems to say that it was in the Holy of
Holies. Students of Scripture have tried to find an answer for this apparent
discrepancy. I will not go into a detailed discussion, which any standard
commentary will contain, but just say that the best explanation to me personally
is that just as the brazen altar, which was outside the Holy Place and where blood
was shed and sacrifice burnt, led to the Holy Place – the shedding of blood was
necessary for entering it – so the altar of incense led into the Holy of Holies, having
been placed in front of the veil into it and representing those qualities of the Lord<\/p>\n\n\n\n
literally, “Now after the second veil a tent called the Holy of Holies [there is no
verb in the Greek, a common occurrence in Greek with the words for “is” and
“was”], having a golden altar of incense,” and Westcott takes “having” as meaning
“belonging to,” that is, not actually in the Holy of Holies, but being in relation to it
as the brazen altar is to the Holy Place. [Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, pgs.
247-248]
6These things having been thus prepared, into the first tent the priests enter
continually, completing the worship, 7but into the second only the High Priest,
once a year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of
the people committed in ignorance,
Having given the physical layout of the Tabernacle, Hebrews now goes on
to tell us what went on there. The priests were allowed to go into the Holy Place
continually to maintain the bread on the table, the fire in the lamps, and the incense
on the altar. All these aspects of worship went on all the time. The Holy of Holies,
however, could be entered only once a year, and by only one person. The High
Priest went there on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle blood to atone for Israel’s
sins for that year. Hebrews does not go into it in these verses, but outside the tent,
in the courtyard, we see the bronze altar where the daily sacrifices were made, and
the laver where the priests washed before entering the presence of the Lord in the
tent.
8
the Holy Spirit making this clear, the way of the Holy of Holies not yet having
been revealed, the first tent still having standing, 9which is a parable for the
present time, according to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, not being
able to perfect in the conscience the one worshiping,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and various washings, regulations of flesh being imposed until a time of setting
things straight.
In vs. 8-10 Hebrews goes on with the theme started in chapter 8 about the
imperfection of the Tabernacle and its worship. The problem with the Tabernacle
had nothing to do with its having been commanded by God, as indeed it had been,
but with the fact that it dealt with outward things, not with the sin and flesh
problem in human hearts, and, as we have seen, it was a copy on earth of the true
Tabernacle in Heaven. We saw that the veil kept people away from God. It
separated the Holy of Holies, where he dwelt, from the Holy Place where the
priests went to worship, and of course the people were even farther removed,
having to remain outside even the courtyard. The veil symbolized the perfect Man,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
man from God. The Old Testament Tabernacle did not show the way to God. It
provided for acceptable worship to God that covered over sins until something
better came along, but it did not show the way to God. The gifts and sacrifices
could not perfect the consciences of the worshippers, for they did not deal with
the problem, sin, but only covered it over for a time.
Most translations of the Bible say in v. 8, \u201c\u2026 while the first tabernacle still
stands\u2026\u201d or something similar. However, the Greek text says literally as I have it
here: \u201c\u2026 while the first tent still has standing\u2026.\u201d What does this mean? To have
standing means that a person or thing is qualified in some matter or has authority
in some area. Sometimes a judge will throw out a lawsuit, saying that the person
bringing the suit has no standing in the matter and so no right to sue. The Jewish
temple in Jerusalem had standing in the governing of the spiritual life of the Jews.
All sacrifice had to be made there and nowhere else. That is where the people came
to worship. Other altars and places of worship were forbidden, and were indeed
one of the reasons God judged his people with the exile to Assyria and Babylon.
But, when the veil of the sanctuary [There was more than one veil in the temple,
the veil into the temple grounds, the veil into the Holy Place, and the veil into the
Holy of Holies or sanctuary where God was enthroned on the mercy seat.] was
torn in two by the hands of God when the Lord Jesus was crucified, the temple
lost standing. It no longer governs the spiritual life of God\u2019s people. The way into
the Holy of Holies has been made known. That way is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself, with his flesh being the torn veil into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, not
the one on earth. The temple in Jerusalem stood for nearly forty more years, but it
had no standing. It became religion at that moment and has nothing to do with the
worship of God\u2019s people, those who through faith in the Lord Jesus have been
released from all outward, earthly rites, special clothing, rules and regulations,
clergy and laity, and so forth. The Lord Jesus Christ and he alone has standing in
the worship of his people. He governs his people personally through the Holy
Spirit given to them.
Thus the Old Testament gives us this marvelous picture of Christ, the
Tabernacle, and its worship, and yet even though we see Christ in the Old
Testament, we do not see the way to God. It is all a picture, a copy of the real thing.
The sin problem has not been cleared up.
11But Christ having come, a High Priest of the good things having come, through
the greater and more nearly perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this
creation, 12not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood,
he entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, having found eternal redemption.
13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those<\/p>\n\n\n\n
will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God?
15And because of this he is Mediator of a new covenant, so that a death
having occurred for the redemption of the violations in the first covenant, those
having been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
But there is an answer! Heb. 9.11-15 tells us what the Lord Jesus did to fulfill
all that the Tabernacle pictured, that he brought about all that it prophesied, but
could not do. He did not enter the physical Tabernacle on earth to minister as High
Priest. He entered Heaven itself and appeared before God, not before a symbol of
his presence. He entered not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own
blood. That blood could never take away sins, for it was man who sinned, not the
animals, and thus the blood of man was required to take away sins. The problem
was that there never had been a man who was worthy or capable of taking away
sins, for all had sins. Now a man has come who had no sins, and whose blood is
therefore effective, not in covering over sins for a time, but in taking them away.
That is what the Lord Jesus did. He put an end to dealing with symptoms and got
to the heart of the problem. Praise the Lord, he offered blood to God in Heaven
that did not deal with the cleansing of the flesh, but with the cleansing of the
conscience, that inner man where sin reigned. The new covenant deals with the
inner man and takes away sins. We can have clear consciences before God because
we are forgiven people. And this redemption that we enjoy is eternal. We need not
worry about it running out. What the Lord Jesus did is perfect in every way, in
time, in eternity, in effectiveness to deal with the problem. Lang points out that
the scapegoat of Lev. 16, on whom all the sins of Israel were symbolically placed
before he was led into the wilderness to take the sins away never returned to the
camp to show that he had left the sins in the wilderness and they were really taken
away, but Christ \u201creturned in resurrection without them, free to enter the true
sanctuary and seat Himself at the right hand of God.\u201d (146)
We saw that the veil pictures Christ. Under the old covenant he blocked the
way to God, for he pictured the requirement that a person be sinless to come into
God’s presence. Mk. 15.38 tells us that when the Lord Jesus died, the veil of the
temple was torn in two from top to bottom. That is, God reached down from Heaven
and tore open the way for people to come into his presence. The tearing of the veil
was the rending of the flesh of Christ. His flesh was torn that we might come into
the presence of God. Now he does not block the way: he is the Way! How can we
keep from breaking forth in praise to him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
has done perfectly. Thus, Heb. 9.15 says, he is the Mediator of a new covenant.
Under this new covenant, people are no longer separated from God by a physical
tent, but are in what that tent symbolized, in Christ, and thus in the very presence
of God, for the Lord Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. We receive the promise of
an eternal inheritance, our lot in Christ. That is the superiority of the new covenant
to the old. The old pictured; the new works!
Heb. 9.15 ends one thought in the consideration of the covenant and leads
into another. It says that “a death having occurred,” we now have what the old
covenant promised, an inheritance.
16For where there is a will, it is a necessity for the death of the maker to be
brought forth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
without blood. 19For every commandment having been spoken according to the
law by Moses to all the people, having taken the blood of the calves [and the
goats] with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, he sprinkled both the scroll itself
and all the people, 20saying, “This is the blood of the new covenant which God
commanded you.” [Ex. 24.8] 21And the tent also and all the vessels of the ministry
he sprinkled with the blood in the same way. 22And almost all things are
purified with blood according to the law, and without shedding of blood there
is no forgiveness.
In these verses Hebrews uses a play on words to show the necessity of
death. The same Greek word means both “covenant” and “will,” will in the sense
of “last will and testament.” That is where we get the word “testament” in our terms
“Old Testament” and New Testament.” Of course, a will does not become effective
until the maker dies. This, says Hebrews, points out the necessity of the death of
Christ for God’s will for people to become effective. God wants people to come
into his presence, as we see in Gen. 1-3 in the story of Adam and Eve, but because
of sins, people could not come into the presence of God until blood was shed that
was effective in dealing with sins. With all the tens of thousands, perhaps millions,
of animals that were sacrificed under the old covenant, not one drop of blood was
shed that was effective in dealing with sins. But there occurred a death that put
the new covenant into effect, the death of Christ.
The old covenant was set up with blood. In Ex. 24 the people were
assembled and the requirement of keeping the covenant was announced. The
people agreed to keep it. Then sacrifices were made and Moses took the blood of
the sacrifice and sprinkled the altar, read the covenant and again secured the
people’s agreement to keep it, and then sprinkled the people with the blood and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
all these words.” Not only was the old covenant established with blood, but
Hebrews points out that under the law almost all things are cleansed with blood,
and “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” It is God’s requirement
that blood be shed, unto death, in order for sin to be dealt with. Under the old
covenant blood was shed that covered over sins, thus allowing people to go on
with God and without judgment, but that blood, as we have seen, could not bring
people into the presence of God. It could not take away judgment indefinitely. It
must come sooner or later.
23It is a necessity, therefore, for the copies of the things in the heavens to be
purified by these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than
these. 24For Christ did not enter into a Holy of Holies made with hands, a copy
of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear to the face of God for us, 25not
that he might offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the Holy of
Holies year by year with blood of another,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
him to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once, at the
consummation of the ages, he has been manifested for the setting aside of sin
through the sacrifice of himself. 27And inasmuch as it is appointed to men to die
once, and after this judgment, 28so also Christ, having been offered once to bear
the sins of the many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those waiting for
him, for salvation.
Just as the old covenant was established in blood, so was the new, but it
was the blood of Christ, taking away sins, bringing people into the presence of
God. The Lord Jesus took the judgment due to men, and thus did not put off
judgment, but did away with it for those who trust in him. There is no prospect of
judgment with regard to salvation for those who come to God through Christ. Our
sins have been forgiven. Vs. 23-28 point out these facts and sum up what we have
been saying. Christ suffered once-for-all, he entered not a copy, but Heaven, and
he took his own blood that was able to take away sins. (We will have to appear
before the judgment sea of Christ for our works to be judged by him with regard
to reward, Rom. 14.10, 2 Cor. 5.10.)
The statements that the things in the heavens had to be purified, and that
by better sacrifices, raise a couple of questions. The first is, Why would the things
in the heavens need to be purified? Isn\u2019t everything in Heaven pure? Hebrews is
not dealing with Heaven here, but with the heavens, the spiritual realm in this case
(\u201cheavens\u201d can also mean \u201cskies\u201d). Lang writes, \u201cIt arises from the defiling of
those upper realms by the sin of Satan and his angels\u2026. \u2018His angels he chargeth
with folly [or error] \u2026. He putteth no trust in His holy ones; yea, the heavens are<\/p>\n\n\n\n
does it say \u201csacrifices\u201d when the one and only sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the
cross was the purifying agent? It seems to me that the reference is to the first five
chapters of Leviticus, which set forth the five types of sacrifice of the Jewish
sacrificial system, all of which were ultimately fulfilled in the one sacrifice of the
Lord. It is also Lang who points out, \u201cWestcott thought that it is used because \u2018the
single sacrifice of Christ fulfilled perfectly the ideas presented by the different
forms of the Levitical sacrifices.\u2019\u201d (Lang, 154) Another interesting possibility is set
forth by Lang in the same place when he adds, \u201cPerhaps the plural may be one of
dignity or emphasis like the plural \u2018deaths\u2019 in Is. 53.9 \u2026 as is suggested by Mr. F.
F. Bruce.\u201d Is 53.9 reads literally, \u201cAnd they made his grave with the wicked, and
with a rich man in his deaths\u2026.\u201d We sometimes say, \u201cI died a thousand deaths,\u201d
to describe great fear. Surely the Lord experienced a thousand deaths and more in
the one death he died on the cross.
V. 24 reads, \u201cFor Christ did not enter into a Holy of Holies made with hands,
the copy of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear to the face of God for
us\u2026.\u201d Before the face of God. In dealing with this statement, Morgan points out
another aspect of the superiority of Christ to Moses, \u201cThis, in itself, is an arresting
declaration, especially when compared with the story we have in Ex. 33. Moses
desired to see God, and was told: \u2018Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not
see Me and live.\u2019 He was allowed only to look upon his back. Now the Son passed
into heaven to appear before the face of God, and that on our behalf.\u201d (103)
Then this passage on the superiority of the new covenant concludes with
the thought that since people must die and face judgment, Christ came once to
take care of that judgment, and will come again, without sin, that is, not to take
care of judgment, but for the salvation for those who await him. Some might think
that the statement that he will come without sin means that he sinned during his
first coming to earth, but we know that Christ had no sin, as Heb. 4.15 plainly
states. The first time he came to earth he did not sin, but he was made sin for us at
the cross (2 Cor. 4.21). In that sense he had sin, but at his second coming he will
come without sin in any way.
There is a sense in the Bible in which our salvation is still future. We were
saved in the past (Eph. 2.8), we are being saved now (1 Cor. 1.18, 1 Pt. 2.11, then
1.9), and we will be saved in the future (Rom. 8.23, 1 Pt. 1.9). That future salvation
is the completion of the salvation of the soul (see 1 Pt. 2.11 and then 1.9 referred to
above), the redemption of our bodies from corruption, the resurrection of the dead
in Christ or the transformation of those of his who are alive at his coming,
deliverance from the very presence of sin and temptation, and the full possession
of our inheritance in the Lord. That is the ultimate outcome of the new covenant.
God has made a new covenant with us. That covenant is that if we will come to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
lead us to a Promised Land that is not under the curse of this age, but is heavenly,
his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4.18). That is what we await as we eagerly await our
Lord’s return. May he come soon! How superior indeed is his new covenant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 10.1-39
In its continuation of bringing out areas in which Christ is superior to
Judaism, Hebrews now deals with the superiority of the sacrifice of Christ to those
made under the Jewish law. This is the main theme of chapter 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
of the things, can never perfect those coming by the same sacrifices which they
offer year by year continually. 2For would they not have ceased to be offered
because the worshippers, having been purified once, would have no more
conscience of sins? 3But in these there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4For it
is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Vs. 1-4 begin the passage by pointing out the failure of the law. The law was
not able to perfect those who made its sacrifices. The first reason is that it did not
deal with the real issue, but with a shadow, a copy, just as the Tabernacle dealt
with in Heb. 9 was only an earthly copy of the heavenly reality. The law required
people to do in the flesh what they will naturally do from the heart when God has
restored things to the way he originally made them. Man cannot keep the law in
his flesh, so the law is a failure, not in that it is wrong, but in that it can impart no
power for its keeping.
This failure of the law is seen in the necessity to keep offering the same
sacrifices day after day, year after year. If they perfected the offerers they could be
stopped, but since they never did they had to continue. They were never able to
cleanse sins, but only to cover them over. Since they did not cleanse sins, the
worshippers still had a conscience of sin and were conscious of guilt, and had to
keep offering the same sacrifices over and over. In fact, says v. 3, those sacrifices,
instead of cleansing sins, were actually only a reminder of sins. They served only
to make their offerers aware of their sins, not to take them away.
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Why
is it impossible? Because the bulls and goats are not the ones who sinned. It is man
who sinned, and it is man who must pay the price of sins. The problem is that there
was never a man capable of paying that price in a way that would deal with the<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
suffering the judgment they bring, namely, hell. He could not pay the price in such
a way as to do away with the sins. There was never a man capable of paying the
price of sins, not, that is, till Christ came. Vs. 5-9 of Heb. 10 tell us why he was able
to pay the price that took away sins and brought us into the presence of God.
5Therefore having come into the world he says, “Sacrifice and offering for sin
you did not want, but a body you prepared for me. 6Whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices for sins you took no pleasure in. 7Then I said, ‘Look, I come (in the roll
of the scroll it is written about me) to do, God, your will.'” [Ps. 40.6-8] 8Saying
above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for
sins you did not want and took no pleasure in,” which are offered according to
the law, 9
then he has said, “Look, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first
that he might establish the second,
The Lord Jesus was able to deal with sins because he had no sin himself. He
was a Lamb without blemish, acceptable to God. Hebrews makes this point by
quoting from Ps. 40, a messianic psalm. This psalm begins with the viewpoint of
the Lord Jesus after the resurrection. In vs. 1-5 he describes his human praise for
God because he has been raised from the miry pit of death. Vs. 6-8, the verses
quoted in Heb. 10, deal with his attitude toward God during the days of his flesh.
We will return to them. Vs. 9-10 show us the earthly ministry of the Lord. He was
faithful in his witness for God, always speaking the truth that God desired him to
proclaim. Vs. 11-17 describe his reaction to the cross. How he shrank from it, yet
how he yielded to the will of God in it. Some say these verses do not refer to Christ
because of the reference to “my iniquities” in v. 12, and because of the prayer to
God against his enemies in vs. 14-15, but the idea is not that the Lord Jesus sinned
himself, but that he took on the sins of the whole world as though they were his
own. He felt the weight of them as he died under them. Nor is the prayer against
enemies directed against human enemies. The Lord Jesus knew that they did not
know what they were doing and prayed on the cross for their forgiveness. The
prayer against enemies was against the spiritual enemies behind the human
instruments of the death of the Lord Jesus. Satan and his demonic forces were
behind thus murder, and the Lord did indeed pray for their undoing, and he died
for it.
Now we return to vs. 6-8, the verses quoted by Hebrews. The Old
Testament text is a bit different from that of Hebrews. The Old Testament was
originally written in the Hebrew language, and was later translated into Greek for
Jews who lived outside Israel and spoke Greek. This Greek version of the Old
Testament is called the Septuagint. Many New Testament quotations of the Old<\/p>\n\n\n\n
differences from the Hebrew. Such is the case in the verses at hand. In Heb. 10.5
we read, “Sacrifice and offering for sin you did not want, but a body you prepared
for me.” In Ps. 40.6 we read, “Sacrifice and offering for sin you did not want; you
have dug my ears.”
How are we to explain this apparent discrepancy? Students of the Bible are
generally at a loss to explain it. Again I will not go into a detailed discussion of the
various efforts, which you can find in any good commentary. It seems to me that
the statement, “\u2026 you have dug my ears,” has to do with the opening of one’s
spiritual ears, we might say, just as Solomon asked God for a “hearing heart” (the
literal translation of the Hebrew, 1 Ki. 3.9), so that the one whose ears are so
opened may discern the will of God and thus obey. In some manner this thought
of obeying became “a body you prepared for me” in the Greek Old Testament.
It was the will of God for his Son to become a man and offer himself as the
Sacrifice for the sins of men that would take them away once-for-all. God did not
want animal sacrifices. He wanted a man who could finally deal with the sin
problem, a man to give himself. In order for the Lord Jesus to do this, he had to
have a human body. He had to become a man. This is the incarnation, the
becoming flesh, of the Lord Jesus (the carn part of this word meaning “flesh” in
Latin). V. 6 repeats the fact that God does not want animal sacrifices, and v. 7
brings out the theme of obedience: “Behold, I have come \u2026 to do, God, your will.”
This fact of the incarnation is the great encouragement for us. It is not that
the Lord Jesus as the divine Son of God obeyed the Father, but that he did so as a
man. With the Lord Jesus, for the first time in history a man has perfectly done
what God required. Thus there is now hope for us. We can be pleasing to God
because we can be in Christ. While holding firmly to the divinity of the Lord Jesus
Hebrews makes much of his humanity, stressing what that means for us. It is as a
man that the Lord accomplished all that Hebrews deals with, and thus we have
hope that we, as men also, can attain to what he reached, not by our own efforts
or merits, of course, but in him. There is a man at the right hand of God because
he has done the will of God fully. Thus there is the possibility of other men
reaching that same position through faith in him. As Hebrews has pointed out,
just as faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness, so it is to us who have faith.
We do not, in this life, become perfectly obedient to God, for we still know
weakness, but it was never about our perfection anyway. The law was given to
show that we cannot keep it and that we need something else for salvation. No
person was ever saved by his works. Even those in the Old Testament who were
saved were saved by grace through faith (Rom. 3.20). As in Adam all died because
all sinned, so all who are in Christ are saved by his merits through faith in him
(Rom. 5.12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
an obedient man, and in doing so again point out the superiority of Christ to
Judaism in saying, “He takes away the first to establish the second.” That is, the
Lord Jesus takes away the first, sacrifices and offerings under the law, to establish
the second, the doing of the will of God. Doing the will of God is superior to
making sacrifices. As Samuel said in Old Testament days, in Jewish Scripture,
“Look, to obey is better than sacrifice\u2026.” (1 Sam. 15.22) Saphir notes,
The law is old, because it came first in point of time; the gospel is new,
because it came second in point of time: but the law passes away, because
its origin is in time; whereas the gospel abideth, because its origin is not in
time, but in eternity. (II, 630)
He continues,
This thought is most frequently and fondly expressed by the apostle. He
shows that the promise given to Abraham was before the giving of the law;
the covenant of grace preceded the covenant of works. But this priority
again is based upon the essential and eternal priority of the dispensation or
method of grace. The original and eternal plan of God is now manifested in
the preaching of the gospel. The Scripture, as Paul personifies it, never meant
anything but the gospel. (Gal. 3.8) (II, 630) (Emphasis mine)
10by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.
V. 10 is most intriguing. It points out that by the will of God which the Lord
Jesus came to do, and did, we have been made holy (or sanctified). That is, one
result of his doing the will of God was making us holy. We saw earlier in dealing
with Heb. 3.1 that “holy” as it applies to us is first of all “set apart” for God. Then
we are to live lives that are different from those of the world, in that God is
different. Indeed “different” or “unique” is the basic meaning of “holy,” and God is
the only one who is inherently holy. He is uniquely different from everyone and
everything else. Who is like God? No one! Not even close! Not even at a great
distance!
But the verse also says that we were “made holy through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ.” The mentioning of the body here, without the mention of
the blood, raises the question as to why the blood is not mentioned, and why it is
by the body of Jesus Christ that we are made holy. There is a long list of verses
that state the work of the blood. Rom. 5.9 says that we are justified by the blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
forgiven. It is a legal term. We are acquitted. Eph. 1.7 says that we have redemption
through the blood. We have been bought back from slavery to sin because our sins
have been forgiven through the blood. Eph. 2.13 says that we have been brought
near to God by the blood. There are many uses of “blood” in Hebrews, more than
any other book. Heb. 9.7 says that the blood is for sins; 9.14, that our consciences
are cleansed from dead works; 9.22, that the blood is for forgiveness; 10.19, that
we have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies through the blood; 13.11, that the
blood is for sin. Peter tells us that we were redeemed with “precious blood.” (1 Pt.
1.18-19) In 1 Jn. 1.7 we read that the blood cleanses us from all sin. And Rev. 1.5
says that the Lord Jesus loosed us from our sins through his blood.
Heb. 10.10 says that we are made holy through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ. We see that the blood applies primarily to sin. We are forgiven and
washed clean of sin, justified, redeemed, brought near to God, loosed from sin. But
our sanctification, our being made holy, set apart for God, enabled to live a holy
life different from those of the world, comes through the offering of the body of
the Lord. How are we to understand this statement? The blood has to do with
forgiveness of sin, but the body has to do with the presenting of ourselves to God
in full surrender. We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, Paul writes in
Rom. 12.1. And very interestingly, he also says that in v.2 that we are to live those
lives different from those of the world: “Don’t be conformed to this age, but be
transformed by the renewing of the mind\u2026.” And what is the outcome? Just as the
Lord Jesus did the will of God by his offering of himself, so do we “prove what the
will of God is\u2026.” These two verses in Romans are virtually parallel with Heb. 10.5-<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
I want to point out that Heb. 10.29 and 13.12 associate the blood with
making us holy. There is no question that without the shedding of the blood of the
Lord Jesus and the forgiveness which results there would be no holiness, for the
forgiveness of sin is the beginning of everything. “Without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness.” Without forgiveness there is no making holy. The blood
is a necessary step on the way to holiness. But I believe the weight of Scripture, as
quoted here, would say that the blood has primarily to do with forgiveness of sins,
and the body, the whole body or person offered to God as with the whole burnt
offering, with holiness.
One more fact I want to point out before moving on, primarily as a matter
of interest, is that in Heb. 10.6 and 8 the Greek word for “whole burnt offering” is
holokautoma. We get our word “holocaust” from this word, the very word used for
the murder of the Jews during World War II. This same word is used in the Greek
Old Testament in Lev. 1.3 and 10 for the whole burnt offering described there and
referred to in Heb. 10.6 and 8. The day will come when the Jewish people will be<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
through their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. May that day come soon!
11And every priest stood day by day ministering and offering the same sacrifices
repeatedly, which can never take away sins, 12but this one having offered one
sacrifice for sins for all time sat down at the right hand of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
waiting until his enemies be pit a footstool of his feet. 14For by one sacrifice he
has perfected for all time those being sanctified.
Heb. 10.11-12 remind us of what we saw in 1.3: “\u2026 having made
purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Standing
symbolizes work. The priests under the law symbolically never got to sit down
because their work was never finished. What they did could never forgive sins, so
they had to keep working. But the Lord Jesus sat down! That is, his work for
salvation is finished. All that is required for our salvation has been accomplished
by him. There is nothing for us to do by way of work to be saved. We do have to
receive by faith what the Lord did, but there is no work for us to do. It has all been
done and if we are trying to earn salvation by any type of good work or self-effort,
we will never make it. All we need do is trust the finished work of Christ. We have
a sitting Lord. That little statement, “The Lord Jesus sat down,” is one of the most
important in the Bible, so much so that Hebrews states it four times (1.3, 8.1, 10.11-
12, 12.2). It means that salvation is available to call who call on him.
15Now the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after having said, 16″‘This is the
covenant which I will covenant with them after those days,’ says the Lord,
‘giving my laws on their hearts, and on their minds I will write them,'” then he
said,
17″‘and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'” [Jer.
31.33-34]
In vs. 15-17 Hebrews tells us that the Holy Spirit adds his witness to what
has been said, and he quotes Jer. 31.33-34 again, the same passage he quotes in
chapter 8. He is pointing out that our sins have been effectively dealt with so that
we can have within us what it takes to be pleasing to God rather than trying by
self-effort to keep an external law, and he says again that what Jeremiah
prophesied has come about: because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus God has put
his law into our hearts and minds. Obedience flows out of us rather than being
something we struggle to attain. The Holy Spirit also adds his witness to our
forgiveness, and that is the real point Hebrews is getting at here. The work of
Christ is finished, so “their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sacrifice of Christ, and of this section of the chapter, the finished work, this note
about the witness of the Spirit is instructive to us. The author of Hebrews says that
the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth of what he is saying, and then he quotes
Scripture as the witness of the Spirit. What Hebrews is saying in effect is that the
Scriptures are the result of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is inspired
by God, God breathed (2 Tim. 3.16). We normally think of the witness of the Spirit
as internal, the awareness of our hearts that something is true, and this is the case
in Rom 8.16 and Gal. 4.6 where Paul says that the Holy Spirit bears witness with
our spirits. But there are two sides of the witness of the Spirit. We may indeed hear
the Lord speak, not audibly, but in our hearts. But Satan can speak, too. How many
times have we heard of someone committing an atrocity and then saying that a
voice which he identified as God’s told him to do it? No doubt he did hear a voice,
but it was not God’s. The other side of the witness of the Spirit is the written word
of God. God will not speak to a person anything that is contrary to the written
word. We do want to hear God speak to us in a living way, but what we hear must
be compared with the written word. If it disagrees it is not God, no matter how
convincing it may sound. This instruction on the witness of the Spirit is what we
referred to earlier as logos and rema, the written and spoken word of God. We long
for rema, the spoken word, the witness of the Spirit in our hearts, but what we hear
must agree with the logos, the written word of God, which is also the witness of
the Spirit.
18Now where there is forgiveness of these there is no more offering for sins.
To return to the main point, the finished work of Christ, let us just note v.
18, where the passage is summed up. Both the Jewish sacrificial system and the
sacrifice of Christ are over with. There is no need for animal sacrifice because the
work of the Lord Jesus has accomplished what they pointed to, but could not do
themselves. There is no need for Christ to offer himself continually because his one
sacrifice of himself took away sins. Our sins are forgiven. If they are forgiven there
is no longer any need for sacrifice. Why try to take away something that has
already been taken away? What great meaning is stored up in that phrase, the
finished work of Christ.
Heb. 10.19-25 deals with the practical results in our lives of all that has been
said up to now in this chapter. If it is true that the Lord has done what the law
could not do and has taken away our sins so that we may know salvation and
holiness, what do we do as a result? Here we meet with three more exhortations,
LET US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the blood of Jesus, 20which he inaugurated for us – a newly-slain and living way
through the veil, that is, his flesh –<\/p>\n\n\n\n
22LET US come with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having the hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and the body having been washed with pure
water. 23LET US hold fast the confession of the hope without wavering, for
faithful is the one having promised, 24and LET US consider one another for
sharpening of love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves,
as the practice of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as
you see the day coming near.
In the first place, we have confidence to draw near to God. This is a very
practical matter. Many Christians lack assurance of their standing before God.
Often this is based on feeling. They do not feel anything. They do not feel the
presence of God. They do not feel saved. Because of this lack of feeling they
wonder if they are really saved, or if God is upset with them about something. The
truth is that our salvation is not based on our feelings. Feelings are a part of the
soul, the psyche, and are naturally up and down. If we live by them we will have
difficulty. But we are not to live by them, but by the word of God and faith in him
and it, and the word of God says that the work of Christ is finished. We do not
hope to attain to salvation. We do not hope we will be good enough to get into
Heaven. We have salvation if we have trusted in Christ. It is a finished work. Not
because of our goodness or of our feelings, but because of what Christ has done
we can have confidence to enter into the very presence of God. We need not be
disturbed about our salvation. That is the enemy’s lie. What we are talking about
is peace with God. We can be people at peace because the work of Christ is
finished.
One of the great symbols of the finished work of Christ is the tearing of the
veil in the temple from top to bottom (Mk. 15.38), showing that when the Lord
Jesus died God himself tore the veil, making the way open into the Holy of Holies
and his very presence. Morgan called my attention to the fact that the word for
\u201cnew\u201d in our translations of Heb. 10.20 is not one of the two usual Greek words
for \u201cnew.\u201d As we saw earlier, one of these is veos, meaning \u201cyoung\u201d or \u201cfresh,\u201d
something new that is like something that has gone before, such as fresh eggs. The
other is kainos, meaning \u201cnew\u201d in the sense of something that never existed before.
Resurrection would be a good example. There never was a resurrection before that
of the Lord Jesus, and there has not been one since.
But the word here is prosphatos, and this is its only occurrence in the New
Testament (four times in the Greek Old Testament). The adverb form is used in
Acts 18.2, meaning \u201crecently\u201d (also four times in the Old Testament). The literal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
term for the slaughtering of a sacrifice. I do not argue that the correct term here is
not \u201cnew,\u201d but I do believe that the Holy Spirit had a purpose in using this word
for the only time in the New Testament in this verse. Morgan writes that \u201cthe
phrase accurately translated reads, \u2018a newly-slain and living way.\u2019\u201d He adds, \u201cIn
this connection we may call to mind the fact that in the Apocalypse [Revelation],
John speaks of beholding: \u2018In the midst of the Throne \u2026 a Lamb standing, as
though it had been slain.\u2019\u201d (108) The word for \u201cslain\u201d in Revelation is the same as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
slain way is the slain Lamb of God of Revelation! Thus Hebrews says that we have<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have already seen that the Lord Jesus himself blocked the way to God
before his own death and resurrection because he was the sinless man. One had to
be sinless to go into the presence of God. He was the veil that separated. But God
tore that veil, he tore that flesh of his only and dearly beloved Son (see Is. 53.10),
and now that torn veil, that torn flesh, that living Son of God who was torn is a
newly-slain and living way into the very presence of God.
But how could he be newly-slain and living? Because he was resurrected
from the dead the third day after he was slain. He was newly-slain when he was
resurrected (but not so soon that he was not certainly dead).
And we see that the way into the Holy of Holies is not a road or a path. It is
a Person. The way is newly-slain and living, a Person who died and was raised.
He has not only made the way. He is the way! Yes, the correct translation is \u201ca new
and living way,\u201d but never forget that the Lord\u2019s death is hidden away in this
Greek word for \u201cnew.\u201d
With regard to this veil, Thomas D. Bernard has written beautifully,
He became man and stood forth as the one real and eternal Prophet – the
medium of communication between the mind of God and the mind of man.
Then he was in the world, but he “was in heaven” – in the concourse of men,
but “in the bosom of his Father.” His flesh was as a veil between the two
worlds, and he who dwelt in it read on the one side the secrets of the Most
Holy, and on the other presented them to the apprehensions of mankind.
On the one side he received; on the other he gave. (22)
And his ultimate giving was of himself, to be torn for us.
Exhortation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
faith\u2026.” Remember that faith does not just happen, but must be exercised. When
these doubts arise, we are to stand by faith on the truth of God’s word. Hebrews
tells us that we will inherit salvation (1.14), that we are partakers of a heavenly
calling (3.1), that we are his house (3.6), that there is a Sabbath rest awaiting us
(4.9), that we have a throne of grace where we can find mercy and grace for timely
help (4.16), that we have such a High Priest (8.1). Claim the truth of these
statements from God’s word, from Hebrews, and stand on them. When Satan
tempted the Lord Jesus at the outset of his ministry, he confronted Satan with the
word of God. He stood on that word and did not sin. You, and I, stand on God’s
word and “come with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
Then, and this is really the other side of the same coin, we have a clear
conscience. The blood of Christ has sprinkled our consciences, making them clean.
Satan is the accuser (Rev. 12.10) and would try to dredge up past sins or major on
current sins, but God does not accuse in this way. He convicts, but when we
confess he forgives and that is the end of it. If there is a continuation of guilt over
past sins, that is the accusation of Satan and it needs to be stood against on the
basis of the finished work of Christ. Christians need not be plagued by guilt. They
need only confess their sins, thereby putting them under the blood of Christ, and
then when Satan accuses, simply remind him that the work of Christ is finished.
Remind him of 1 Jn.1.9: “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us
the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If Satan has any charge to
bring against a Christian, he should be referred to the Lord Jesus. Let him tell the
Lord what he has against you. He will tell Satan that he died for that sin and it is
done with. It is not our place to try to convince Satan or ourselves that we have
been forgiven. We have been. Just claim it and refer all accusations to the one who
shed his blood. “Come with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
Next we are told by Hebrews that a result of the work of Christ is that we
have washed bodies. What does this mean? Obviously it does not refer to a bath
to remove physical dirt. What does it refer to? It means that bodies that were
formerly used for purposes of sin are now used in the service of God. Paul makes
this quite clear in 1 Cor. 6.9-11:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom?
Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor
pederasts nor homosexuals nor thieves nor the covetous nor drunkards nor
the violent will inherit God’s kingdom. And such were some of you, but
you were washed\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spiritually washed clean and now use those same bodies under a new Lord for
good purposes. We have been set free from the power of sin and can serve God,
and we are instructed by the Bible to do so. That is a practical result of the finished
work of Christ. So, “come with a true heat in full assurance of faith.”
Exhortation
Then we have another LET US: “LET US hold fast the confession of the hope
without wavering, for faithful is he who promised.” Many things happen in this
life that would cause us to question and doubt the Lord. That is only natural since
we walk by faith and not by sight. When the trials of life come, the spiritually dry
periods or the hardships, it is human nature to waver and turn away from hope in
the Lord, but because of what Christ has done in putting away our sins and
bringing us into God’s presence, we have reason to hold fast the confession of hope
that we once made. That hope will not be disappointed, for the one who made the
promises is faithful. As a result of the work the Lord Jesus has done, we can stand
in the storms of life.
Exhortation
Then we read, “LET US consider one another for encouragement of love and
good works\u2026.” This is another practical outcome of what has been done by the
Lord. If all that has been said is true, that we have received forgiveness and are
being made holy, that we are actually in the presence of God, then it is obvious
that we should pay attention to love and good works. Our aim in life should be to
please God (2 Cor. 5.9) and to encourage our fellow Christians to do the same. We
must encourage one another. We all feel weak and about to falter at times. That is
when we need to call on our fellow believers and help each other. It is vital that
we are in this together. We need each other just as the members of our physical
bodies all need each other. Thus Hebrews says that we are not to forsake “the
assembling of ourselves” as some do. We have probably all heard of someone who
says that he doesn’t need to meet with the brothers and sisters, he can worship
God out in the woods by himself, or something similar. Well yes, he can worship
God by himself, and he should. So should we. There should be private worship in
all of our lives. But to say that you do not need to meet with the saints is like the
hand saying that it does not need to associate with the others members of the body.
If the hand goes off by itself, what will happen to it? It will die. Christianity is not
an individual matter. We are the body of Christ, a living organism, and thus we
must be together and supply each other or we will not make it in living a victorious<\/p>\n\n\n\n
encourage, counsel, comfort, help. We must help each other in whatever way is
needed at the moment.
All of us have an effect on those around us. There are some we affect
strongly. It may be that they like us or dislike us or look up to us. Whatever the
cause there is strong influence. The question we need to ask ourselves is how we
stimulate those people over whom we have such influence. Are we using that
influence to stimulate love and good works, or do we provoke anger or resentment
or lead someone into activities that are not pleasing to the Lord? It is vitally
important that we see to it that our influence points people to the Lord, and that
when we stir them up what gets stirred up is love and good works.
“[A]nd so much the more as you see the day coming near.” What day? The
day of the coming of the Lord Jesus and the establishment of his kingdom on earth,
“concerning which we speak.” This statement is a reference to the very heart of what
Hebrews is about. We need to encourage and exhort one another in difficulties
precisely because that day is drawing near, and it is those who are faithful at the
end who will be rewarded. Keep going on with the Lord. Don’t fall away. He is
coming quickly and his reward is with him (Rev.22.12). And he says even to the
church in Philadelphia, “I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, so that no
one take your crown\u201d (Rev. 3.11). We believe that he is coming soon, and that when
he comes he will come quickly. That is, there will be no warning and no time to
change. His appearing will be instantaneous and we must be ready at every
moment, for it may be at any moment. The day is coming near!
26For when we sin willingly after having received the knowledge of the
truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain fearful
expectation of judgment and zeal of fire about to consume the adversaries. [Is.
26.11] 28One having set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the
testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much worse punishment do you
think he will deserve, having trampled underfoot the Son of God and having
considered common the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, and
having insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know the one having said,
“Vengeance is mine; [Dt. 32.35] I will repay,” [Dt. 32.35 LXX] and again, “The
Lord will judge his people.” [Dt. 32.36 LXX, Ps. 135.14 Hebrew and LXX] 31It is a
terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
An important theme in this section on the practical results in our lives of
what the Lord Jesus has done is holding fast, not turning away from the Lord in
hard times. Now in vs. 26-31 Hebrews deals with the consequences of not holding
on. Just as in chapter 6, we see in this passage that great loss is involved in failure<\/p>\n\n\n\n
possible for a Christian to lose salvation. It says plainly that if one has received the
knowledge of the truth and goes on sinning willfully, there is no more possibility
of forgiveness, but only of judgment, and adds that one who has been made holy
and is behaving in such a way is actually trampling underfoot the Son of God,
seeing as unclean the blood of Christ, and insulting the Holy Spirit. Those who
believe in eternal security have to find ways to explain these strong statements so
that they do not contradict their doctrine. I have already stated that I believe in
eternal security and I think the loss that is possible in this passage is not salvation,
but reward in the kingdom, but I do think that those who hold such a doctrine as
eternal security should consider carefully and prayerfully, with an open heart and
mind, passages such as this one.
Whatever the truth is, it is a terrifying thing not to go on with the Lord. If
under Moses a person was stoned to death on the testimony of two or three
humans, how much more does one who has received the truth from the Lord Jesus
deserve judgment if he turns away from it? Peter tells us in his first epistle that
judgment begins from the house of God (4.17), and the same claim is made in Heb.
10.30, quoting Dt. 32.35-36: “Vengeance is mine\u2026. The Lord will judge his people.”
My belief is that a person who has been saved does not lose salvation, but reward
in the kingdom, and that the judgment referred to here is the judgment seat of
Christ, before which every Christian must appear for the judgment of his deeds
for reward, not for salvation. But I emphasize once again that the statement of the
Lord through this epistle in this place is so strong that it does raise the question of
losing salvation and says to me that one should never take that chance. Go on with
the Lord.
The original readers of Hebrews had every reason to go on with the Lord.
The law that they considered turning back to had failed. The Lord Jesus had
fulfilled God’s real requirement, not the outward observance of the law, but the
doing of God’s will from the heart. His work was a finished work, providing both
salvation and holiness. The Hebrews knew the practical ways in which they
should walk as a result. If they were now to turn away from the Lord Jesus and
back to Judaism, what a terrifying prospect of God’s judgment awaited them!
Whether this judgment be loss of salvation or loss of a Christian’s reward, why
take the chance? It was not worth it. Going on with the Lord was worth whatever
price had to be paid, even the loss of life.
It is the same with us today. We may not be tempted to turn back to
Judaism, but many Christians have faced trials in which they were tempted to turn
away from the Lord. How we should resist that temptation and hold fast to our
Lord. It will be worth it all when we see him. Do not run the risk of the terrible<\/p>\n\n\n\n
is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
32But remember the former days in which, having been enlightened, you
endured a great struggle of sufferings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
revilings and tribulations, and this \u2013 having become sharers with those so
treated. 34For you also sympathized with the prisoners and accepted the seizure
of your possessions with joy, knowing yourselves to have a better and abiding
possession. 35Therefore you should not cast away your confidence, which has
great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, that having done the will of
God, you may obtain the promise. 37For yet “in a very little while the Coming
One will come and will not delay, 38but my righteous one will live by faith, and
if he should shrink back, my soul takes no pleasure in him.” [Hab. 2.3-4 LXX]
39But we are not of shrinking back to destruction, but of faith to the possessing
of the soul.
This theme of enduring to the end is the subject of the final passage in Heb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
the key to being able to do it. He begins by reminding his readers that they had
been enlightened. That is, they came to see the truth of the Lord Jesus, that he is
the long awaited Jewish Messiah, and that his promises go beyond this life and
this world. His kingdom is heavenly and spiritual, as we have seen, and its
rewards are eternal. What they had seen at that time had already taken them
through one period of trial.
This trial consisted of being publicly reproached themselves, and then of
identifying with others who were being so treated and thus incurring more
reproach. They had had their property seized and had accepted that with joy. Why
were they now considering turning back from Christ? Their faithfulness in trial
had earned them a reward in the kingdom. If they stopped now they would forfeit
that reward, not to mention any further reward. It is only in doing the will of God
to the end that one receives what was promised. They had already endured a
severe trial once. They can do it again, and the reward will far outweigh any
temporary relief in this life.
What is it that enables one to be faithful under trial? In v. 34 Hebrews says
that the recipients of this epistle were able to endure because they had a kingdom
outlook. They had been enlightened to the truth of the Lord Jesus, as we noted just
now, and their faith in that truth carried them through. They knew they had “a
better and abiding possession,” “the inhabited earth to come, concerning which we
speak,” and counted it of far more worth than anything in this world. Anything in
this world, no matter how good, will come to an end or we will die and leave it<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
on into eternity.
These readers were not looking at these passing rewards of time, but at
those better and lasting rewards of the kingdom. How we need this kingdom
perspective. We are so prone to measure things by their effect in time, but God is
trying to prepare us for his millennial kingdom and for the eternity beyond. It does
not matter so much what happens in time, though it certainly seems to at the time.
What matters is whether or not we turn to the Lord in all things that happen to us
and allow him to use them for our good. If we do he is able to prepare us for the
kingdom. If we turn away from God or become upset or bitter at him for the things
we suffer, we will lose the opportunity to gain something of eternal value in order
to hold on to something that will pass away in time. The Lord Jesus is God’s
anointed King for the millennium and for eternity, and it is his will that we reign
with him as his bride. If we do not learn to reign over the situations that come to
us in life, how will we be able to reign over much greater things beyond this life?
It is in the trials of life that the gold of God in us is refined. When things get hot
we need to turn to the Lord, not away from him, and yield to him so that he may
accomplish what he has in mind in the difficulty. God has prepared a kingdom for
us, and eternity. The question is, will we allow him to prepare us for the kingdom
and eternity?
Hebrews now quotes Hab. 2.3-4 to reinforce what he is saying, and in so
doing he goes further into what is the key to being able to endure under trial.
Habakkuk, like the readers of Hebrews, lived in a difficult time. His day was one
of spiritual decline in Judah. Israel, the northern tribes, had already been carried
off into captivity by the Assyrians, and the captivity of Judah by the Babylonians
was not far off. There was much evil in Judah and great questions arose in the
heart and mind of Habakkuk. Why did God allow evil to go on among his people?
And why was he going to use an even greater evil, Babylon, to bring judgment?
Habakkuk really questioned the Lord, but he did so not out of defiance of God,
but out of love for God’s people and jealousy for God’s holiness. Thus God
answered his questions. He told Habakkuk that the real answer was faith in God.
Whatever the specific answers to questions might be, the real answer is to trust
God. He knows what he is doing and will bring things to the right conclusion at
the right time. Habakkuk was told that God had provided an answer and that,
though it might be delayed, it would come in God’s time, so to wait faithfully and
patiently for it. Hebrews quotes this passage as prophetic of the Lord Jesus by
writing \u201chim\u201d instead of \u201cit.\u201d It shows that the “it” of Habakkuk, the prophetic
answer to his questions, was really a “he,” the Lord Jesus. Though he delays, wait
for him. He will come at the appointed time. And it is faith that enables one to wait
for the appearing of Christ, even under trial. If one really believes God’s promises<\/p>\n\n\n\n
his life. But if one shrinks back from the trial rather than living by faith, God has
no pleasure in him. It is faith that lays hold of God and experiences the pleasure
of God.
There is a striking contrast in this statement that “if he shrinks back, my soul
takes no pleasure in him.” In Is. 42.1 God said of his Servant, the Lord Jesus, that
he was the one “in whom my soul is well-pleased.” This statement is quoted five
times in the New Testament (Mt. 3.17, 17.5, Mk. 1.11, Lk. 3.22, 2 Pt. 1.17). I think
you see the point, that God was well-pleased with his Son! And keep in mind that
the Lord Jesus walked by faith as a man on this earth, and though his soul did
shrink back from the cross in his emotions in Gethsemane (Mt. 26.38, Mk. 14.34,
Jn. 12.27), he trusted in his Father and chose to do his will despite his own deep
suffering, and thus did not shrink back ultimately from the cross. The Father
continued to be well-pleased with him, but of those who of Israel who shrank back
to destruction, in the wilderness, he said, “\u2026 my soul takes no pleasure in him.”
His soul was not well-pleased with them. Faith and the consequent obedience<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pleased. And the writer of Hebrews is applying these words to his readers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This matter of faith is the key to the whole matter of endurance under trial.
If we have faith that the trials are temporary and that God will right things in his
kingdom and on into eternity, we will go on in trial, but if we do not really believe
God and trust in him, we will probably fall away in trial. There must be a belief
that it is worth it to go on when things are hard. That is the beginning of faith, but
the choice must be made to obey. Do we really believe what God has promised?
Do we trust him? That is the heart of the kingdom outlook. God has made
promises, not just for time, but for the kingdom and for eternity. Do we believe
them? Do we believe him? Do we trust him? That is the kingdom outlook. That is
faith. If we measure things only by their temporal effect, we are going by sight, not
by faith, and that approach will cause us both to fall away in trial and to lose the
pleasure of God in us. How vital it is that we be people of faith, that we truly
believe what God has spoken in his Son and act on that belief by trusting in him.
It is of great importance that we endure, for trials will surely come, but we will not
endure unless we are people of faith.
Those who do not have faith shrink back to destruction, but those who do
have faith endure to the possessing of the soul. What is the possessing of the soul?
The answer to such a question is complicated by the fact that Christians do not
usually use certain terms biblically. For example, we say that a lost person needs
to have his soul saved. That is absolutely true, but the saving of the soul in the
Bible is not what most Christians mean by it. It is usually taken to mean the initial<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God heals and sanctifies the soul, the psyche (Mt. 10.38, 16.25-26, Mk. 8.35-37, Lk.
17.33, Ja. 5.20, 1 Pt. 1.9, 2.11; \u201cpsyche,\u201d psuche, is the Greek word for soul; it is our
psychological aspect). Initial salvation is of the spirit, being born again, the giving
of God’s life to the formerly dead spirit of a person, by the entrance of the Holy
Spirit into that dead spirit when the person has been forgiven for his sins. Final
salvation is the completion of the saving of the soul (1 Pt. 1.9) and the redemption
of the body (Rom. 8.23). We were saved (spirit), we are bring saved (soul), and we
will, be saved (body).
We all have souls damaged by sin and by some of the experiences of life,
and God uses our time on this earth to bring the healing needed. Our continuing
on with the Lord enables him to do this work. Those who so endure experience
that saving of the soul and are thus prepared for reigning with Christ in his
kingdom. Those who shrink back are not thereby eternally lost. Their destruction
is not hell, but physically dying in the spiritual wilderness of this world after
wandering there during this life rather than walking in victory with the Lord and
being prepared to reign in the kingdom. In the same way the Israelites died in the
wilderness and lost their inheritance in the land. It is like 1 Cor. 3.15 again: they
will be saved, but so as by fire. But what exactly is the possessing of the soul?
We noted above that the soul is our psychological aspect. It consists of
mind, emotions, will, temperament, personality, and so forth, but man also has
spirit and body. The body, of course, is the physical part of us. The spirit is that
part which is able to communicate with God. In the lost person, the spirit is dead
toward God. That means that the soul of man is all that he has to govern his life.
That is, he is reliant on his own soul resources to understand, make decisions, and
so forth. Paul points out in 1 Cor. 2.14 that the soulish man (most translations say
\u201cnatural man,\u201d but the Greek word is psuchikos, from psuche, \u201csoul\u201d) cannot receive
the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned, since the
spirit is dead toward God. A Christian who is not in proper fellowship with God
can also be soulish. The soulish man must rely on his own intelligence, reason,
wisdom, will power, emotional control, and so forth. He has no guidance from
God. James writes of the wisdom from above and the wisdom that is not from
above in 3.13-15, where he says that the wisdom not from above is \u201cearthly,
soulish, demonic.\u201d This is the soulish man. Jude has a very intriguing statement in
v. 19, that the false brothers are \u201csoulish, not having spirit.\u201d (very exact, literal
translation). That is, they do not hear from God because their spirits are dead
toward him. They are soulish.
Paul goes on in 1 Cor. 2 and 3 to write of the spiritual man (and the carnal).
His spirit is alive toward God because he has been born again, and he is
surrendered to God and has access to him by his Holy Spirit. Thus he is not soulish,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
addition, a spiritual Christian is one who is in the process of bringing his soul
under the control of the Holy Spirit through his spirit. Most people in the world,
and far too many Christians, are governed by their bodily appetites, their mental
state, their emotional state, their will power or lack of it, their temperament, and
on we go. Most of us are not intelligent enough to be totally governed by our
minds, and even those who are probably follow their bodily appetites to a large
extent (see Paul Johnson, Intellectuals, very informative and interesting). Most of
us do not have enough will power to control ourselves totally and to get whatever
we want by force of will. That leaves the emotions and the temperament. Some
have enough personality, closely related to temperament, to breeze through life,
but most of us are dominated by our emotions to a large extent. And if we have
not learned to deal with our emotions successfully, we are up and down as they
are up and down.
All this brings us to our original question: But what exactly is the possessing
of the soul? It is a process. When we come to the Lord and are born again, our
spirits come alive toward God. That is the first step in salvation. The second step
is the salvation of the soul. All of us have soul damage from sin and from the
buffetings of life. Remember that soul is mind, emotions, will, temperament.
People have mental damage from serious mistreatment, emotional damage closely
related to this, damage to will power, personality disorders. When we are the
Lord\u2019s he begins the process of saving our souls, repairing the damage and
enabling us to function as he intended. It is of note that the Greek for \u201csave\u201d can
also be translated \u201cheal,\u201d and several times in the gospels the Lord tells someone,
\u201cYou faith has saved [or healed] you.\u201d Which is it? Maybe both! This goes on
throughout life. The possessing of the soul is a part of the salvation of the soul. It
is the bringing of our souls, our psychological makeup, under the control of our
spirits as they in turn are brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. Thus we
are less and less, as life goes on, dominated by our emotions, our intellect, our will,
our own personalities. (This does not mean that we lose our personalities and all
become just alike under the Holy Spirit, but that we do not use our personality for
our own gain, but to glorify God.) We are led by the Holy Spirit. We possess our
souls rather than our souls possessing us.
As stated above, faith is the key to the whole matter. It is to the development
of this reality of faith that Hebrews now turns in one of the loveliest and most
powerful chapters ever penned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heb. 11.1-40<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
seen.
Up to this point the epistle to the Hebrews has dealt almost exclusively with
the Lord Jesus Christ and the various aspects of his superiority. All along, though,
has been the implication, and sometimes the explicit statement, that this means
something for the way a Christian lives. If it is true that Christ is superior in every
way, then what is the Christian’s response to that fact? Heb. 10.19-25 deals with
the practical response, and 10.26-39 emphasizes the need to go on with the Lord
and endure to the end. At the end of that chapter Hebrews makes a highly
significant statement that leads into chapter 11: “But we are not of shrinking back
to destruction, but of faith to the possessing of the soul.” It would be good if the
chapter division were not here, for one tends to turn his mind off what he has been
reading and get ready for something new, but the thought carries through from
10.39 to 11.1, and they should be read together: “But we are not of shrinking back
to destruction, but of faith to the possessing of the soul. Now faith is the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (italics mine) With this
word, the writer shows how one does what he says in 10.19-38 one should do. That
is a great lack in Christian teaching. We are often told what we should do, but we
are not told how to do it, and we find ourselves in Rom. 7 with Paul, able to will
the right, but frustrated in our efforts to do it. Wretched men and women that we
are! Who will deliver us? (Rom. 7.25) Rom. 8 tells us who. Heb.11 tells us how.
The “how” is simple really, but sometimes we complicate things so that it is
difficult to get hold of the truth that we live out what Christ provided by faith.
Faith is the “how.” It is faith that enables us to do the practical things of Heb. 10.19-
38, to go on with the Lord, to endure hardship to the end, in short, to live in the
good of the superiority of Christ. It is to this matter of faith that Heb. 11, one of the
most eloquent chapters in the inspired word, is devoted.
The chapter begins with a sort of definition of faith, though it is not so much
a definition as an explanation: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.” The Greek word for “assurance” is the same as the
word in Heb. 3.14, hupostasis, that which is foundational. It can mean the nature of
a thing, as in Heb. 1.3, where it refers to the nature of God, or the assurance of
something, the confidence that comes from the security of a sure foundation. That
is what faith is. If we really do believe and trust, and do not just try to believe or
pretend to, but really do, then we are sure. We have assurance. We have certainty
that things we do not see are nonetheless real. That thought of the unseen is vital<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
not made from things which are apparent. V. 7 says that Noah was warned of
things not yet seen and believed them. V. 27 says that Moses “endured as seeing
him who is unseen.” Paul gives the real explanation of this matter very simply in
2 Cor. 5.7: “We walk by faith, not by sight.” It is fundamental to the Christian way
that there is something not visible to the physical eye that is real, indeed is more
real than the material in the sense that it governs the material and will outlast it,
going on eternally as the material passes away. That something is a spiritual realm,
and above all that something is God himself. We do not see it, but we believe in
something unseen, and it, not what we see physically, governs our lives. That is
faith.
The world says that seeing is believing. In Jn. 6.30 the crowds asked the
Lord Jesus, “So what sign do you do that we may see and believe you?” In Mk.
15.32, as the Lord hung on the cross, those who mocked him said, “Let the Christ,
the King of Israel, now come down from the cross that we may see and believe.”
Faith says that having faith is seeing. If one insists on seeing proof of spiritual
things before believing them, he will not see the proof, but if he has faith in God
he will see ample proof, though it will at the same time not be proof to unbelievers.
As we think about this matter of faith, this belief and trust in the unseen, let
us ask a few questions about it so that we may gain greater understanding of it,
not just for the sake of knowledge, but that we might learn to live by faith. First let
us inquire further about what faith is. The Greek word for faith is based on a root
that means “convinced,” and underlying that meaning is the basic idea of the root,
the thought of binding. One is convinced of the truth of something, so he binds
himself to abide by it. In the case of the Christian, we have seen, the truth one is
convinced of is the unseen God and the spiritual realm he inhabits.
But faith goes beyond these thoughts. It is not just belief, that is, intellectual
assent. It is what we might call active belief. We saw earlier in dealing with Heb.
3.14-19 that faith is belief plus action based on the belief. Faith has a practical
impact on the believer. There are many things we believe that make no difference
whatever. I believe that Antarctica exists. I have seen its outline on maps and read
about it in books and seen pictures of it on television, but I have no plans to go
there and have done absolutely nothing as a result of that belief. Actually, I may
have done something. I have made a definite decision that I do not want to go
there because I do not like cold weather! Nevertheless I am a true believer in
Antarctica. I have not a shred of doubt that it is there, though I have never seen it.
But that is not biblical faith.
On the other hand, I also believe in England. There was a time when I had
never been there, but I believed in it and liked what I heard about it. I wanted to
see it, so one day I boarded a plane and flew there. Sure enough it was there and I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
my life. I acted on it. That is a kind of example of what the Bible means by faith. It
is believing something to the point of acting on it, and it is believing in something
unseen. Before I went to England for the first time I was believing in something I
had never seen. What if I had flown there and it had not been there? Even though
I had not seen it I still believed in it. The first time I went there I went by faith.
Now I go by sight. I have seen it and know by sight that it is there. But I knew just
as surely by faith that it was there. I had no doubt of it. That is what Hebrews
means when it says that faith is the conviction of things not seen.
If faith is the conviction of things not seen, where does it come from? Why
would a person believe in something he cannot see? In Rom. 10.17 Paul writes,
“Now faith comes from hearing and hearing through the speaking of Christ.” That
simple statement explains to us the origin of faith. Faith is believing certain
propositions and claims, and it is believing in something unseen, but it is more
than that. If that were all there were to faith, then one could believe just any
propositions or claims and anything he wanted to about the unseen. One man’s
opinion is as good as another’s. But faith is not just believing something; it begins
with believing what God says. Fundamental to faith is the fact that God speaks.
Until God speaks there can be no faith, for faith by the Bible’s definition begins
with believing what God says. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through
the speaking of Christ.”
As we noted at the beginning of these thoughts on Hebrews, God has
spoken in the Bible (1.1-2). Especially in the Old Testament days, before they had
much of the written word, and in the New Testament also, he spoke directly to
men and women. God spoke in the Bible through men and women. God still
speaks through the written word today. It is also true that God still speaks directly
to people today, and that is the primary force of Rom. 10.17, the verse just quoted.
In that verse, the Greek word for “speaking” is rema, and we have already seen that
rema means the word currently spoken, the living word of God as opposed to logos,
the written word. (This does not mean that the logos is not living, but that it can be
read without the reader hearing anything from God in it.) Faith comes alive in a
person when he hears God speak in a living way. That speaking may be through
the written word, through the message of another person, by any way God may
choose. The important thing is that the person hears something living from the
Lord. We have all had the experience of reading the Bible and getting nothing out
of it, and then finding God later bringing the passage to life in an exciting way.
The first was logos, the second, rema. Or we have heard a preacher proclaiming the
word and had the Lord to bring something he said to life in our heart. That is rema.
It is important to remember, as we pointed out earlier, that logos is no less
the living word of God than rema, and that what God speaks in a living way in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to hear God speak to us, but we can always test what we hear by the
written word to make sure we are not being led astray by a satanic voice. The rema
is based on the logos, so it is vital for us to study the written word even when it is
not meaningful to us. We are storing up information that the Holy Spirit is able to
call to mind in a living way at the right time. There can be no faith until God
speaks, so it is of great importance that we put ourselves into a position where we
are able to hear him speak. That position comes with exposure to the Bible and
those who speak the things of God.
The Lord Jesus teaches us in Jn. 8.44 that Satan is a liar. That is how he
operates, by deception. Indeed, the very first account of Satan in the Bible has him
questioning the word of God when he asks Eve in Gen. 3.1, “Has God said\u2026?” God
is pure truth. There is NO falsehood in him. Let me rephrase that: There is NO
falsehood in God. Whatever he says may be counted on though the skies and the
earth pass away. This is why it is so important for Christians to know what God
says. What he says is the Christian’s foundation, and what he says is the source of
faith. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the speaking of Christ.”
If faith begins with believing what God says, what does faith do? Simply
put, faith lives by the word of God. Whatever God says governs the person of faith.
“In everything give thanks” is the command of 1 Thess. 5.18, so when a Christian
encounters a circumstance that does not normally evoke thanks, he gives thanks
to God anyway. Why? Because he believes God, and God says, in Rom 8.28, “All
things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according
to purpose.” Things may not look good and may be very unpleasant or hard, but
the Christian believes that God can use anything for good, just as he used the
greatest sin ever committed, the vicious murder of Christ, to save the world. Faith
stands on that word of God. Notice that it is not faith till the stand is taken. Before
that it is only belief, which is not faith by itself. Faith is belief plus trust, acting on
what one believes.
Paul says in Eph. 6.11-13 that we are to take the whole armor of God so that
we may be able to resist Satan and his demonic forces and in the end, to stand.
That is what faith does. It stakes everything on what God says and will go even to
death believing and trusting God. It says with Job, ‘Though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him.” Faith lives by the word of God.
How is faith developed? It is developed by testing. Peter gives the clearest
statement of this truth in 1 Pt. 1.7: “Now for a little while you may be grieved in
various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that
perishes though proved by fire, may be found to praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ.” Faith is like gold that is proved by fire, and Peter tells<\/p>\n\n\n\n
anything from the tedium of life to physical persecution and martyrdom. The
point is that they are God’s means of refining our faith. It is of interest that the root
of both \u201cgenuineness\u201d and \u201cproved\u201d in 1 Pt. 1.7 are the same in Greek: the \u201cproof\u201d
of you faith, \u201cproved by fire.\u201d
What is this saying? It is saying that faith must be refined. Think about that
for a moment. We have faith, but oh how mixed with unbelief our faith is! My faith
is not pure. Is yours? Peter is telling us that God uses the trials of life to burn away
the impurities in our faith so that we may develop a pure faith, one that has no
mixture of unbelief and is able to lay hold of God and draw from him. That state
of “no mixture of unbelief” is probably more a goal than a final reality. As we go
through trials trusting in God our level of impurity is ever decreasing and the
purity is ever increasing.
When those difficulties come, as they do to everyone, do we stand on the
word of God that he is able, indeed intends, to use them for good, that he will
never leave us even though we may not feel his presence, that we will not be tested
beyond our ability to endure, or do we begin to doubt God and his word? The
former response requires faith and makes it more able to draw on the Lord for
life’s needs. The latter weakens faith and makes it more difficult to stand against
the onslaughts of the enemy. Oh that we might turn to the Lord and stand on his
word in the fires of life. Then they will purify and refine our faith.
Our final question about faith is, What is its outcome? We could answer this
question in many ways. A few thoughts will suffice. First, faith leads to holding
firm against the enemy now, in this life. We have already referred to Eph. 6.13
where Paul says to take the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand. The
Lord Jesus himself taught the same principle in Mt. 7.24-27 in the parable about
the houses built on sand and rock. The key is the statement of the Lord that
everyone who hears his words and does them is like a man who builds on a rock.
Hearing the word is the origin of faith, as we saw in Rom. 10.17, and doing it is the
evidence of belief. If one really believes what God says and is willing to obey him,
he will live by it. Then when the Lord Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words
of mine and does them\u2026.,” he is defining faith. When the storms of life come
against one who lives in that way, who lives by faith, his house will stand. The
outcome of faith is standing in the storms of life.
A second outcome of faith is the obtaining of salvation. This statement may
sound a bit strange, for we are accustomed to thinking of salvation as something
we already have. It is true that we already have salvation, but the Bible teaches
that there are three tenses of salvation, as we noted earlier. We were saved in the
past. That is what Eph. 2.8 refers to, the time at which we were born again. This
past salvation refers to the spirit, the making alive of that spiritual part of us that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus salvation is something that is going on now. This present salvation refers to
the soul, the psyche (Greek psuche) of man that has been damaged by sin and is
the center of the flesh nature that opposes God. God is presently working to bring
the soul of the Christian under the control of the human spirit indwelt by the Holy
Spirit, where he intended it to be from the beginning. As the soul finds its rightful
place under the governance of the spirit, rather than itself trying to rule, it goes
through a process of the flesh being crucified and the soul being healed of the
damage of sin and moves toward wholeness. And 1 Pt. 1.9 says we will receive as
the result of faith the salvation of our souls. This is future salvation. It refers to the
completion of the process of the saving of the soul, but also to the redemption of
the body from the curses of disease, death, and decay (Rom. 8.23).
Another outcome of faith is sharing the glory of Christ. The Lord Jesus
himself tells us in Mt. 10.32-33 that those who confess him before men will be
confessed by him before the Father, and those who deny him will be denied before
God, and in Mk. 8.30, that whoever is ashamed of him now, of him will the Son of
Man be ashamed when he comes in glory. The opposite is also true, that those who
identify with the Lord Jesus now in his shame will share in his glory when he
returns. Rom. 8.18 tells us that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. We live now in a time of
difficulty and shame, but there is a day of glory coming. Those who live by faith
will share that glory.
Faith also leads to being like Christ. We have already referred to Rom. 8.28,
which tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God and
are called according to purpose, and this verse is followed by the statement that
the good that God is working toward is conforming us to the image of his Son (see
also 2 Cor. 3.18 and Gal. 4.19). Genuine faith in these statements by God can keep
us through trial. When things get really hard and we feel as though we cannot
make it, we can stand on this word that God is using the trial to make us like
Christ. The beloved Apostle John shows the outcome clearly in 1 Jn. 3.2: “We know
that when he appears we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” That is the
outcome of faith.
We could go on listing verses that show the outcome of faith, but perhaps
the best way to sum it up is with two words: the kingdom and Heaven. The Bible
teaches, as we have emphasized all through this study of Hebrews, that those who
go on with the Lord to the end will reign with him in his kingdom at his return
and then will always be with the Lord in Heaven. What a marvelous eternity we
have to look forward to! We do not know all about the kingdom or Heaven, but
we know that they will be wonderful beyond our imaginations, and we know that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
eternal outcome of faith.
With these thoughts about faith in mind, let us now turn back to Heb. 11. I
am indebted to E.W. Bullinger, Great Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews Eleven, for some
of the material in this chapter.
2For by this the elders received a good testimony.
V. 2 tells us that it was by faith that the elders were approved by God,
testified to by him. Then the chapter goes on to deal with a number of Old
Testament men and women of God and to show how they exemplified faith. It is
with these people of faith that we now have to do.
3By faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by the speaking of God,
so that the things being seen to have come into being from the things not
appearing.
This statement that the things seen are the creation of God is foundational. We
believe that God created the ages and all that occurs in them simply by his
speaking \u2013 \u201cLet there be – and that they appeared out of nothing. This creation did
not just happen. It was spoken into being.
4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he
received a testimony to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through
it he being dead still speaks.
The first example that Hebrews cites is Abel, the second son of Adam and
brother of Adam’s firstborn, Cain. Heb. 11.4 tells us that “by faith Abel offered to
God a better sacrifice than Cain.” The beginning of faith is belief in what God says,
so it must have been that Abel’s sacrifice was an expression of belief in what God
said, whereas Cain’s was not. This is exactly the case, and thus Abel exemplifies
faith in his worship.
In Gen. 2.17 God had warned Adam that if he ate from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil he would die. Death is the penalty for sin. Gen. 3
portrays the sad story of man’s eating from this tree. The spiritual death of man as
a result is seen in Gen. 3.8: Adam and Eve hid from God. Then in Gen. 3.21 we are
told that God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness,
of which they had been unaware before their sin. Where did those skins come
from? The only possibility is the death of an animal. Thus both spiritual death and
physical death entered God’s creation as a result of sin. Through these instructions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
requirement for dealing with sin. One could not be restored from sin to God
without the shedding of blood. Hebrews has perhaps the plainest statement of this
in the Bible in a verse we have already considered, 9.22: “Without shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness.”
This requirement that blood be shed for the approach of a sinner to God is
the basis of worship. One cannot come to God for worship or any other purpose
without blood to offer for his sins. Abel believed this that God had said, so he
offered to God a lamb or a kid from his flock. He offered a blood sacrifice. Cain is
the father of man’s religion, for he did not believe what God had said (or did, but
did not obey) and brought an offering of his own works, the fruit of the ground,
fruit he had raised by his own efforts. That is the essence of man’s religion. He
refuses to acknowledge that he is a sinner, or if he will go so far as to make that
admission, he refuses to deal with it in God’s prescribed way. He wants to
maintain his own ability to be good enough to approach God as he is in himself.
He will not acknowledge the need of blood as the way back to God. Those who do
offer blood sacrifices offer them not so much as a substitute for the sinner as simply
an offering to the god to appease him. By denying the need of blood completely,
or seeing it only as an offering, not as an admission of sin, one not only denies the
truth of the Old Testament sacrificial system, but he also does away with the blood
of Christ. Thus we have all sorts of explanations of the sacrifice of Christ that leave
out the blood and try to explain it as simply the expression of God’s love or
something similar. The truth is that God laid down a requirement that blood must
be presented to him by the sinner who wants to gain fellowship with him. The
blood of the Old Testament sacrifices served the purpose until a perfect sacrifice
came, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whose blood we have not just the covering of our
sins, but forgiveness.
We have no way of knowing how much Abel understood, but the important
point is not that he understood the theology of what he did, but that he believed
and obeyed God. God had said that blood was required and that was enough for
Abel. Cain was not willing to take God at his word, but had a better idea. Thus
Cain becomes to us the example of man’s religion that will never draw near to
God, while Abel takes his place in the Bible’s great chapter on those who gained
God’s approval by faith. Abel exemplifies faith in his worship. He worshipped
God according to what God said, not according to man’s wisdom, or rather, man’s
pride, and thus he is an example of faith. “God resists the proud, but gives grace
to the humble.” (Ja. 4.6, 1 Pt. 5.5)
Hebrews does not draw it out, but it is worth noting that Cain, the father of
false religion, persecuted Abel, the adherent of true faith. Cain killed his brother
Abel because he was angry that God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected his<\/p>\n\n\n\n
themselves without going God’s expressed way have always ridiculed and
persecuted those who hold to what God has said. Never mind all that. Keep
holding to what God says, despite man’s superior wisdom. Bear faithful witness.
Perhaps some will see their error and turn to the Lord. For the others, the day of
the Lord will reveal the truth.
Saphir brings out a very important truth in dealing with this verse on Abel.
He writes.
The universal character of God\u2019s chosen people, and of the Scripture which
records their history, is seen in many ways; and perhaps the most obvious
is the fact, that as its prophecy comprehends all nations, so its history begins
not with Abraham, but with Noah and with Adam; thus showing from the
outset that it is a revelation for mankind, and of the dealings of God with
man, and concerning the whole race. It is on account of this connection of
Israel with the whole race that Jesus charges Jerusalem with all the
righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto
the blood of Zacharias. (Mt. 23.35). And as the genealogy of our blessed
Lord is traced not merely to Abraham, but to Adam, so is the history of
Abraham\u2019s seed traced to the pre-Abrahamic believers. (II, 733-34)
We saw earlier that Saphir wrote that the gospel is not of time, but of
eternity, and that \u201cthe Scripture, as Paul personifies it, never meant anything but
the gospel.\u201d (II, 630) That is, from the beginning God\u2019s idea has been \u201cthe universal
character of [his] chosen people.\u201d It has always, from eternity, included all people,
not just the Jews. Whosoever will may come. God did not begin the creation of
mankind with the Jews, but with Adam, the representative of all men. The Jews
began with Abraham and were brought in to be God\u2019s witness to all men (see Is.
42.6, 49.6) in the midst of the virtually universal failure of man to follow God.
Hebrews may have been written to Jewish Christians, though this is by no means
certain, but its message is to all Christians, just as the good news has been for all
men from the very beginning, indeed, from eternity.
5By faith Enoch was taken up so as not to see death, and “he was not found
because God took him up.” [Gen. 5.24] For before the taking up he received a
testimony to have been pleasing to God. 6Now without faith it is impossible to
be pleasing, for the one who comes to God must have faith that he is and that
he is a rewarder of those diligently seeking him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
without seeing death because he pleased God. Gen. 5 contains the short record of
Enoch. We are told very little about him, but in that passage it says not that he was
pleasing to God, but that he walked with God. This shows us first of all that what
pleases God is for us to walk with him, but it also shows that Enoch exemplified
faith by walking with God, just as Abel exemplified faith in his worship .
Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 5.7 that we walk by faith, not by sight, and that is a
truth that Enoch got a grasp of way back in the beginning. What a testimony he is.
He had no written Scriptures to study, yet he heard from God and believed what
he said. He lived by the word of God, and he did that so fully that God took him
on to Heaven, bypassing death. How pleased God is with the one who will walk
by his word.
Enoch has very few mentions in the Bible, but one that is very instructive to
us is Jd. 14. The reference that Jude makes is unknown to us, but the interesting
point for us is the statement that Enoch was the seventh from Adam. Seven in the
Bible is a number of perfection, and we see that God has used it in this case to teach
us a spiritual lesson. Enoch reached a level of spiritual maturity that corresponds
with the number seven. He reached such a level of maturity that God spared him
death and took him up alive to Heaven. The important point is that he did this by
faith. He was a man like us. He had no special advantages. He simply believed
what God said and walked by it. That is faith – believing and acting on the
believing. In doing so he pleased God. Oh that we might so walk in the simplicity
of believing our God and acting on that belief.
We are not told any details of Enoch’s life except for a bare minimum, but
we may learn from other Scriptures what it is to walk with God by faith. Eph. 2.8
tells us that salvation is by faith. The word of God tells us that the Lord Jesus has
provided salvation for all by his sacrifice of himself, and that whoever will may
come. We enter into salvation by faith, by accepting that word of God as true and
standing on it. We may or may not feel anything, but that does not matter. We are
saved by faith in what God says, not by how we feel.
Eph. 1.3 says that we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in
Christ. Sometimes we may not feel blessed and circumstances say that we are
surely not blessed, but we do not go by how we feel or by circumstances. We go
by the word of God, and it says that we have every spiritual blessing. The God
who is God when we feel well and are living in good circumstances is still God
when we do not feel well and when circumstances are not to our liking. He is using
those conditions to test us and to build us up in him. The God of light is still God
in the dark! And there are treasures of darkness that can be gained in no other way
(Is. 45.3). Faith lays hold of that truth and walks by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” Just as a person enters into salvation
by faith, so he enters into victorious Christian living by faith. God’s word says that
Satan has been defeated, that the battle is the Lord’s, that we are able to stand in
Christ against all that the enemy can do. Faith believes that and stands on it. We
do not enter into victory in the Lord by self-effort any more than we are saved by
self-effort. We enter into victory in the Lord by faith, by believing what God has
said about the fact that we already have victory in Christ and standing on that fact.
Our hope also comes from faith. There is a difference between the
Christian’s hope and the world’s hope. The world has no basis for its hope, but
simply hopes that things will get better. But the Christian has what God has said.
The Christian has “precious and great promises.” There is a basis for our hope. In
Rom. 8.24-25 Paul says that we hope for what we do not see. We have already seen
that faith is believing and trusting in something unseen. The kind of hope a
Christian has springs from his faith, his assurance that the word of God is true.
We could go on giving examples of walking by faith, but our point is that
this is the kind of man Enoch was. He did not live by his feelings or circumstances
or outward appearances, but by what God has said. The result was that he was
pleasing to God, so pleasing that God spared him from death.
Hebrews uses this example of Enoch to draw out another principle. After
Heb. 11.5 says that Enoch was pleasing to God, v. 6 says, “Now without faith it is
impossible to be pleasing, for the one who comes to God must have faith that he
is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” How vital it is that we grasp
the importance of faith. Without it there is nothing. God has not proven himself to
the five senses of man, and he will not until Christ returns. He has only made
claims, and those through men who cannot prove that God spoke to them. If we
do not believe, there is no basis for anything. God has spoken in truth and he
requires us to believe him with no proof. The marvel is that when we do believe
him, and trust in him, he does prove himself inwardly, but faith comes before
proof, not vice versa. If we believe that he is and that he rewards those who seek
him, and act on that belief by trusting him, he is pleased by that faith and does
reveal himself to the believer. His inward revelation is proof enough to those who
know it, but it comes only with faith.
One final truth may be noticed about Abel and Enoch. Together they picture
to us those who die in the Lord and those who will be alive at his coming and will
be caught up to meet him in the air, not seeing death. Abel died, but we have the
promise of God that he, and all those who have died in the Lord, will be raised
from the grave at the coming of the Lord Jesus. Enoch did not see death, and all of
us who are alive now have the blessed hope that we, too, will escape death and
will be caught up to the Lord in the air. That is our heart’s desire, but whether we<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether we go by the way of Abel or of Enoch, we know that our eternity is secure.
Oh may the Lord hasten his coming, and may he find us ready, like Enoch, people
who, walking by faith, are pleasing to God.
7By faith Noah, having been warned about things not yet seen, being cautious
in the things of God prepared an ark for the salvation of his house, through
which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness
according to faith.
Noah is next in the list of examples of faith in Heb. 11. As Abel and Enoch
did, Noah exemplifies faith in one particular way that stands out. Before we look
at that aspect of faith, let us notice the statement in Heb. 11.7 that Noah was
warned of things not seen. God spoke to Noah and warned him of the impending
destruction of all living things by a great flood. Of course the flood was an unseen
thing at that time, and nothing like that had ever happened before. In addition, it
had apparently never rained on earth before the flood (Gen. 2.5, 7.4). There was no
basis in history or experience for believing that such a thing would happen, but
Noah was a man of faith. When God spoke he believed him, even though what he
heard had to do with unseen things. When that belief is acted on, that is faith.
Gen. 6.3 tells us that God decreed that man should have 120 years to live. It
is difficult to know exactly how to understand this verse. Some believe that 120
years would be the normal lifetime of man from that time on, rather than the
several hundred years of those who had lived up to this time. However, some men
who lived after this time lived more than 120 years, such as Abraham, who died
at 175, and Isaac, who died at 180. Most interpreters take Gen. 6.3 to be a reference
to the time of the flood, meaning that God decided to judge man by a flood that
would come in 120 years. Vs. 5-7 of this chapter of Genesis tell us that God saw
how great the wickedness of man was and was sorry he had made man, and
declared that he would destroy all things living on the earth. Then vs. 8-21 tell us
that Noah found favor with God and received his warning and instruction about
the flood.
Peter describes Noah in 2 Pt. 2.5 as a preacher of righteousness. When we
combine this thought with what we are told in Gen. 6, we realize that Noah
preached righteousness, that is, the coming righteous judgment of God, and the
accompanying call to turn from sin to righteousness, for 120 years, but he did not
have a single person to repent. Thus we see that Noah exemplifies faith by his
faithful witness. He had heard something from God and believed it, even though
there was a great delay of time and even though no one responded to his message.
Indeed he probably endured mocking and scoffing as he built an ark on dry land<\/p>\n\n\n\n
something more sure to stand on than all the accumulated history and experience
and wisdom of mankind. He had the word of God. What an example of faith Noah
is, preaching something unseen for 120 years with no response and no evidence of
its truth, yet never wavering from his position. Noah bore faithful witness to what
he had heard from God for all that time, preaching and building, preaching and
building.
There is an instructive thought in 2 Pt. 2.5, the verse just cited as showing
that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Literally translated, the verse begins,
“\u2026 and did not spare the ancient world, but protected eighth Noah, a preacher of
righteousness\u2026.” The reference to “eighth Noah” probably means that a total of
eight persons were saved, Noah along with seven others, but the specific use by
the Greek text of this word “eighth” has a reason. Seven in the Bible is a number of
perfection, as we saw in the case of Enoch. Thus eight becomes a number for
something new. Perfection has been reached, so if something else is done, it must
be something new, something of a different order. It can refer to resurrection, the
bringing of new life out of death. Such is the case with Noah. The account is a
picture in the Old Testament of the bringing of life out of death by God. He was
able to bring his people through the flood of death into life beyond the grave.
The wonder of this truth is seen further in the fact that the ark is a type of
Christ. Just as the ark carried the righteous through the judgment of the flood, so
our Ark, the Lord Jesus, carries us through the judgment of God on sin and
delivers us safe beyond the cold waters of death, the grave, in resurrection life. He
has saved us from the penalty of our sins, and we have the promise of life that will
never end or be subject to disease and injury. Because of our Ark, because of our
Eighth Man, we will taste no judgment, but eternal life. Praise be to his name
forever!
One further thought about Noah is based on his name, which means “rest.”
How was Noah saved? By responding to God’s warning of a coming flood in God’s
way. We could say that he earned his salvation by his works: building the ark. But
we know that no man is saved by his works. Noah believed God and acted on his
belief. That is faith. Genuine faith also obeys. As James said, “Show me your faith
without the works and I will show you faith by my works.” Works are the evidence
of faith. It was Noah’s faith that saved him, not his works, but his works proved
his faith. So in fact Noah figuratively rested in Christ for salvation, rested in the
ark during the flood, just as we are to rest in Christ. He is our rest.
These words about Noah in Hebrews were written to encourage wavering
Jews to remain faithful to Christ. Their point is that by faith Noah was able to
preach 120 years with no response and no evidence that what he preached was
true, and thus the Jewish Christians of the first century after Christ could likewise<\/p>\n\n\n\n
time they were called to by God. The same message comes to us today. No
Christian escapes trial, but like Noah, we can endure if we have faith, that is, if we
really believe what God says and trust in him about using all things for good and
giving us eternal reward for our faithfulness.
Heb. 11.7 says that Noah was warned about things not yet seen. We noted
above that this reference to things not seen gets to the very essence of faith, but
there is a second side to the thought. It is also prophetic. What Noah heard from
God was prophetic. It was a prediction of a future event. (Prophecy may be future
prediction or the declaration of God’s word for the present. In this case it is the
former.) We are in the same position as Noah. God has given us promises of future
events. He has promised resurrection for those who have died in Christ, rapture
for those who are alive at his coming, eternal life with him for both groups,
everlasting joy with the absence of sin, pain, and sorrow, the restoration of all
things to God’s original intention. As Peter puts it, we have precious and great
promises. Do we really believe these promises of God? There is no proof of them
now. There is no outward evidence. The world scoffs at them. We have the same
choice as Noah. He was a man of faith and chose to believe God despite the lack
of evidence and the scoffing of man. May the Lord grant us grace to be people of
like faith, that we may be faithful witnesses to him. Noah was a faithful witness,
and faith, believing God and acting on the belief, is the basis of faithfulness.
8By faith Abraham being called obeyed by going out to a place which he was
going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was
going.
Having shown us the worship of Abel, the walk of Enoch, and the witness
of Noah, Hebrews turns now to the figure most readily associated with faith,
Abraham. Of all the people of God in the Bible, he is the great exemplifier of faith.
Yet all the others listed in Heb. 11 are also examples of faith. Of Abraham, though,
it was written that he had faith in God and it was accounted to him as
righteousness, and thus he becomes the primary example of faith in the word of
God.
Like the others, his faith is shown in a particular way, and this was his
obedience. Whatever God commanded Abraham he did. We never find Abraham
arguing with God or reasoning with him. He always immediately obeys. His
obedience is evidence of his faith. He truly believed what God said, so he acted on
it. That combination of belief and action based on the belief is faith.
Hebrews focuses on three commands that God gave to Abraham. Actually,
in the first matter we perhaps do not have a direct command from God. I think<\/p>\n\n\n\n
unknown place, it was at the command of God. However, there is no command to
Abraham while he lived in Ur recorded in Genesis, and God’s command recorded
in Genesis came to Abraham while he was living in Haran. Gen. 15.7 and Neh. 9.7
do say that God brought Abraham out of Ur, but neither verse mentions a
command of God. The only place we see such a command is Acts 7.4 where
Stephen, in his rehearsing of Israel’s history says that God commanded Abraham
and then he left Ur. The solution seems to be that God commanded Abraham while
he was in Ur, and after he settled in Haran, God commanded him again, this time
to keep moving. Of course, the command that came did not specify where he was
to go, but only to go to a place that God would show him, so we may conclude
that he did not know to go to Canaan until God commanded him while he was in
Haran. At any rate, when the order came, Abraham obeyed and moved.
It is of great interest that his home city was Ur, a Chaldean city. The name
“Ur” means “light,” and the city worshipped a moon god. The Bible tells us that
Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11.14), and the lesson for us is that Ur
represented a false light. It was a city that did not know God, and thus whatever
wisdom and learning it may have had were of this world. They did not give the
light that leads to God. Abraham obeyed the voice of God, moving away from the
false light and toward the true light.
His move was a move of faith because he saw nothing, but was acting on
what he had heard with faith from God. He did not know where he was going. He
did not even have any proof that God had spoken to him, so far as we know. He
thought that he had heard the call of God and went out believing that it was God
and that what God said was true. That move unsubstantiated by anything but a
supposed hearing was the first act of faith Abraham performed. He heard from
God, he believed what he said, and he acted on it.
9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as another’s land, having lived in
tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise.
The second command was that he live as a foreigner in tents in the very
land that God had promised him. Since he was in the land that God told him
would be his, it would seem that he would have built a house and a city, and he
became a man wealthy enough to do so, but he was first of all a man of faith, a
man who lived by the word of God, and God’s word for him was that he live as a
foreigner in tents.
There are two important lessons for us in these pictures. His living as a
foreigner reminds us of the New Testament passages that tell us that this world is
not our home, but our commonwealth is in Heaven. We live here now on the earth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
live as strangers on it. It is under the usurped authority of an evil ruler, and until
God does intervene and restore it, we are strangers here. We do not put down
permanent roots in this world. We look for an eternal, spiritual city in which to
dwell permanently.
The second lesson comes from the tents. They show us that Abraham was
always ready to move on at the command of God. He never became tied to
anything that would keep him from following the Lord. He knew that God is
always doing something new and fresh rather than doing things the same way
every time. How we love to find the right technique for doing things, but God is
not the God of techniques. Rather, as we have already learned in studying Heb.
3.7, 17, and 4.7, he wants us to hear his voice daily and move with what he is
saying. Spiritually, we are not to dwell in houses in this world, but in tents, always
ready to move at the Lord’s command.
Abraham’s third command was perhaps the most difficult of all, yet we are
not told of any struggle in his decision to obey. Heb. 11.17 tells us that Abraham
was told to offer his only begotten son as a sacrifice to God, and that he obeyed.
Gen. 22.2-3 makes the point even plainer, indicating that when God gave the
instructions, Abraham rose early the next morning and set out to obey. How
difficult this seems. Abraham was promised by God that he would have a son
through whom God would raise up a great nation even though Abraham and his
wife Sarah were too old to have children. Isaac was that son, born miraculously
just as God had promised. Now God was calling for the sacrifice of that son.
Hebrews states plainly that this was a test (v. 17). We noted in our introductory
remarks about faith at the beginning of this chapter that God tests faith by putting
it into the fire of trial, and what a test, what a trial, this was for Abraham. Yet he
still believed God and he still obeyed God, and that with dispatch. He rose early
to do so.
The remarkable nature of Abraham’s faith is seen in the comment of Heb.
11.19 that he believed that God was able even to raise from the dead. He believed
this in a day when raising from the dead had not become a common belief. Really,
it was unheard of. We hear talk of the resurrection all the time now, and it is central
to Christian faith. Yet in Abraham’s day it was a doctrine that had not yet been
revealed. Furthermore, such a thing had never happened. Abraham had no history
to go on because no one had ever been raised from the dead. It was a novel idea.
Nevertheless he was so convinced of the absolute truth of what God had said that
he took the position that God could even raise Isaac from the dead if necessary.
What faith this man had, and what obedience sprang from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
builder is God.
Perhaps v. 10 captures the real essence of Abraham’s motivation. He was
looking for a city that has foundations. He was not looking for the things this
world can provide. We do not know how much Abraham knew or believed about
eternal life and Heaven. Certainly these were not doctrines of Old Testament
Judaism, and there are only glimmers of them in the Old Testament. Yet he
somehow perceived that God had something more than this world. He knew that
there was a city that has real foundations, spiritual foundations. Everything
material is subject to wearing out and decaying. All the great cities of this earth
that seem so substantial will one day pass away. The material is not permanent.
The spiritual is. Abraham knew this, though how fully we do not know, and he
looked for that city. He heard something from God that changed his life and he
obeyed. He left his home, he dwelt in tents, he offered his only son, all because
God spoke. That is faith.
11By faith even Sarah herself, being barren, received power for the foundation
of a seed [i.e., not just to conceive, but to found a posterity that would one day
give birth to the Messiah], even past the time of life, for she counted faithful the
one who promised. 12Therefore also from one, and him having been as good as
dead in these things, there were born as the stars of the sky for multitude and
as the numberless sand that is by the lip of the sea.
Abraham had a wife by the name of Sarah. Hebrews cites her as an example
of faith as well. Two points need to made about what Hebrews says about Sarah.
First, the verse in Heb. 11 that deals with her, v. 11, is not properly translated in
our English Bibles. Our translations say that by faith Sarah received ability to
conceive, but that is not what the Greek text says. The Greek says, “By faith even
Sarah herself, being barren, received power for the foundation of a seed, even past
the time of life, for she counted faithful the one who promised.” The word we
render as “foundation” is used ten times in the New Testament besides in the verse
presently under consideration (Mt. 13.35, 25.34, Lk. 11.50, Jn. 17.24, Eph. 1.4, Heb.
4.3, 9.26, 1 Pt. 1.20, Rev. 13.8, 17.8). In every case it is translated “foundation” and
refers to the foundation of the world. Why should we translate it differently in this
one verse? It is true that by faith Sarah received power to conceive, but Hebrews
coveys a much larger truth. Sarah did not receive power to conceive just one son,
but she was given faith by God to see the big picture. She realized that she was
doing more than just having a son. She was founding a posterity, something that
would live on in the purposes of God far beyond the life of that one son. By faith<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hebrews Eleven, pgs. 179-180)
In saying that she became a woman of vision we come to the second point
about Sarah, for she was not always so. Gen. 18 contains the account of God’s
promise to Abraham that he would have a son a year later. Sarah overheard, and
when she heard, she laughed, knowing that both Abraham and she were too old
to have a child. She tried to deny her laughter when God asked her about it, but
she did laugh. God had the last laugh, though, for Sarah did have a baby and God
commanded that he be named Isaac, Hebrew for “laughter.” It is worthy of note
that Abraham had already laughed before Sarah did (Gen. 17.17). The point is that
Sarah was not a woman of faith, but of doubt. When she heard the word of God
she laughed at it because of its seeming impossibility. Yet somewhere along the
line God’s word got through to her and she began to believe, for Hebrews tells us
that it was by faith that Sarah was able to conceive and to found a seed. Thus we
come to the particular way in which Sarah exemplifies faith. She shows faith
overcoming doubt.
Doubt seems to be almost a universal human problem. Hardly a Christian
could say that he has never doubted God. We have all wondered why when the
difficulties came. Yet Sarah stands as a testimony to us that despite the doubts,
faith can prevail. We need not give up when doubts come, but like Sarah, we may
decide to trust God, and like the father of the demonized boy in Mk. 9 we may cry
out, “Lord, I have faith. Help my lack of faith.” Sarah moved from laughing at God
to trusting God, and what a mighty miracle, what an everlasting blessing, her faith
produced. It gave us the nation that produced the Messiah, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world.
Heb. 11.13-16 is a digression from the consideration of Old Testament
examples of faith to a general statement about all the examples.
13In faith these all died, not having received the promises, but having seen and
greeted them at a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and
sojourners on the earth. 14For those saying such things reveal that they are
seeking a fatherland. 15And if they were remembering that from which they
went out, they had opportunity to return. 16But now they are desiring a better,
that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their
God, for he prepared for them a city.
First, all these men and women of faith died in faith without receiving the
promises. That is perhaps the ultimate test of faith. It seems as though faith would
produce something of reward in this life, but these people of God never got what
they were promised. Does that mean that God does not speak the truth? No, he<\/p>\n\n\n\n
they ever dreamed.
As we saw in the case of Abraham, their willingness to go to the grave
without receiving, but still remaining faithful, appears even more remarkable to
us because they did not have the doctrine of Heaven that we have. As far as they
knew this life is all there is. Yet something within, they knew not what, drew them
on. They trusted God. What was drawing them on was a country, a country that
God had prepared for them, one that was not material, temporal, of this world,
but one that was spiritual, eternal, heavenly. They could not articulate all this as
we can with the benefit of the ministry of the Lord Jesus and the New Testament,
but they somehow knew within that they should be true to God, for God would
be true to them.
The city, the country, they looked for was not built by man. It was not Babel,
man’s confusion (babble). It was not Judaism. It was not Christendom. All these
are man-made. They did not know it, but they were looking for Heaven, a city
made by God. What faith they exhibited as they saw the city at a distance and
moved toward it as strangers and exiles in this world. May we have the grace of
God to walk by the same faith they did, knowing that God has prepared a city for
us and that he will bring us into it, even if from the grave. God has promised us
Heaven. Do we have faith in him?
17By faith Abraham, being tested, offered Isaac – he was offering even the only
begotten – the one who received the promises, 18to whom it was said, “In Isaac
will your seed be called,” [Gen. 21.12] 19having considered that God was able
even to raise from the dead, from which he did receive him back figuratively.
The faith of Abraham is seen probably most of all in this passage. God had
promised him a son by Sarah who would become a great nation, and through
whom the Messiah would come (Gen.12.3). Of course, it was impossible for
Abraham to have a son by Sarah, for she was well past the child-bearing years.
But, again of course, all things are possible with God. God had been working with
Abraham and his faith for years. He told him to leave Ur and go to a land he would
show him and give him. Abraham believed God and obeyed him, showing his
faith in a doable promise of God. But then God made that impossible promise, not
doable, of a son by Sarah. Yet Abraham believed God still. Now we see his faith in
the impossible.
God’s real test of Abraham’s faith came with the command to sacrifice Isaac.
This goes way beyond the possible and the impossible to deep matters of the heart.
He had promised Abraham this son by Sarah and he had been miraculously born.
He had made promises to Abraham about Isaac’s descendants who would become<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to him as a sacrifice on the altar. And not only is all this involved, but Isaac was
Abraham’s beloved. But Scripture says that Abraham made no protests, but rose
early the next morning to obey God. Here in Heb. 11.19 the writer says that
Abraham’s faith was such that he believed that God could even raise Isaac from
the dead if need be.
So we see that Abraham’s faith was expressed not just in a command from
God in a matter that Abraham was able to do, or in a matter impossible with man,
but also in a matter that tested Abraham to the depths. The result is that over this
period of time, Abraham developed a tested faith, even as Peter writes of in the
first chapter of his first epistle. Tested and found true. Abraham was willing to
give to God the most precious, beloved “thing” he had, not a thing, but a son. Thus,
even with all these great examples of faith in Heb. 11, Abraham is considered to
this day the greatest example of faith.
20By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Sarah’s son by the name of Laughter, Isaac, is the next subject of
consideration in Hebrews 11. V. 20 says that Isaac, by faith, “blessed Jacob and
Esau concerning things to come.” We are not told a lot about Isaac in the Genesis
accounts, and there are not the stirring exploits for God that we find with
Abraham, Joseph, David, and so forth, but we do find that Isaac accepted what
was passed on to him by Abraham and in turn passed it on to his sons. He reminds
us of Jude 3, where the author exhorts his readers to “contend for the faith that was
once for all delivered.” God has given things to his people and what he has given
is to be passed on. It is not to become dead tradition, as too often happens, but it
is to be passed on. Future generations need to know what God has done and
revealed. This is what Isaac did, and thus he exemplifies faith by passing on what
he received from God. He did not keep it to himself, but drew others into it.
This was done by faith, just as it was with Abraham. Isaac dwelt in tents as
his father did. He did not receive the land of promise any more than Abraham did.
Neither of them saw the fulfillment of what God had promised, the possession of
the land, the making of them into a great nation, the blessing of all the nations
through their descendants, and through their Descendant, Christ. But as Abraham
did, so Isaac had faith in what God said and lived in faithfulness to it, and when
the time came he passed it on to his sons.
The faith of Isaac is seen also in his response to what happened when he
gave the blessing. Esau was the firstborn and the favorite of Isaac. His wife
Rebekah loved the younger twin, Jacob. The father’s blessing was Esau’s right as
the firstborn, but when Isaac, blind with age, announced that he was ready to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaac found out what had happened he trembled greatly, but he declared that the
blessing had been given and could not be revoked. Jacob would be blessed. Isaac
had had his own plans about who should get the blessing, but he recognized that
God had overruled, and he yielded by faith to what God had said in the
circumstances.
Heb. 11.20 says that Isaac blessed his sons concerning things to come. This
fact also shows his faith. His blessing encompassed something as yet unseen
because it had not yet happened. It was a prophetic word. He had no way of
knowing it would happen except that God said so. He believed what God said and
blessed Jacob accordingly. That is faith, belief plus action based on the belief.
Isaac probably was not a great man in the sense that Abraham, Joseph,
David, and others were, but he was nonetheless a man of faith. He believed what
God said, passing on the promises and yielding to the hand of God in the
bestowing of the blessing, and thus he gained God’s approval and a place in Heb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
was a fairly ordinary man. We may think that we cannot do what Moses or David
did. Whether that is true or not, we can certainly do what Isaac did. We can believe
God and act on that belief. We can pass on to others what God has done and what
he has taught us. We can yield to him as he works in our lives. We can, as Isaac
was, be people of faith.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph “and
worshipped on the top of his staff.” [Gen. 48.15-16]
Jacob, the son of Isaac who stole the blessing, is next on the list of Old
Testament examples of faith in Heb. 11. This man is one of the most interesting
characters in the Bible. He was one of twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Gen. 25.22
tells us that the twins struggled in the womb of Rebekah, and Gen. 25.25-26 tell us
that Esau was born first, but that Jacob was holding on to Esau’s heel. His birth
and his name picture his nature, that of a swindler. We have all sorts of names for
such a person today, a cheat, a con man, and so forth. Not a very likely candidate
for Heb. 11!
Jacob lived up to his name. He was a kind of mama’s boy and stayed around
the house. Esau was an outdoorsman and became a skillful hunter. Once when
Esau had come in from the fields, he was so hungry he thought he would die. Jacob
had cooked some stew and when Esau asked for a bowl, Jacob asked for Esau’s
birthright in return. The birthright was the right of the firstborn to inherit a double
portion (Dt. 21.17) from his father and to be head of the clan when his father died
(Gen. 27.29). Esau saw no need for the birthright if he was going to die of hunger,<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Esau in this action and revealed his cheating nature.
We have already noted in considering Isaac that Jacob went on to cheat Esau
out of his blessing also. When this happened, though, Esau threatened to kill Jacob
as soon as Isaac died, so Jacob fled. On his journey he further revealed his nature
when he had the encounter with God at Bethel. There God appeared to him in a
dream, but Jacob’s response, instead of yielding to the Lord, was to try to strike a
bargain with God. He said that if God would look out for him, he could be his
God. How relieved God must have been! Jacob’s efforts to use people knew no
limits!
He went to his mother’s homeland, to her brother, his Uncle Laban. There
he met his match in cheating. He fell in love with Laban’s younger daughter
Rachel, and made a deal with Laban to work for him for seven years in return for
marriage to Rachel. At the end of the seven years the wedding took place, but
Laban substituted his older daughter Leah, whom Jacob could not recognize
because of her veil. Jacob did not like Leah because she was not attractive, but he
had married her. He had begun to get a dose of his own medicine. He worked
seven more years for Rachel, and then Laban would not let him leave to go home.
Laban cheated Jacob out of his wages, but Jacob struck back. He had made another
deal with Laban to get part of the flocks for himself as wages. Every speckled and
spotted and black animal would be his, so he bred the flocks in such a way that he
got the better of the deal. What a situation, two cheats going at each other tooth
and nail! But God had a plan in all this.
Finally Jacob stole away from Laban to go home. When he was about to
reach home, he sent messengers to tell Esau, and they came back with the message
that Esau was on the way with four hundred men. Fearing that Esau meant to keep
his threat to kill him, Jacob came to the crisis of his life. At the ford of the Jabbok
River he was left alone all night and God appeared to him again. This time he
wrestled with the Lord instead of trying to bargain with him. What a strong fight
Jacob put up. The Lord did not prevail over him, so finally he touched the socket
of Jacob’s thigh and put it out of joint. Jacob still held on, though, even though he
could not fight on. The Lord said for him to let him go, but Jacob said he would
not let him go unless he blessed him, so the Lord blessed him with a new nature,
symbolized by a new name.
This whole encounter was symbolic. The wrestling was between God and
the old, cheating nature of Jacob. As long as Jacob’s flesh nature prevailed he was
actually losing with God, but when God touched his thigh and put it out of joint,
symbolically dealing with his flesh, Jacob lost the fight, but won with God. What
a lesson that is to us. As long as our flesh prevails we get nowhere with God, but
when he is able to apply the cross to our flesh, crippling it, we begin to prevail<\/p>\n\n\n\n
alive (Jn. 6.63). That is the point we must come to if we are to get anywhere with
God. As long as we are strong in the flesh, we will not be pleasing or useful to
God, even though we may appear to be outwardly. When our flesh is put out of
joint and we go limping in the flesh, then we are strong with God. We please him.
He is able to use us. As Brother Lance Lambert points out in his book Jacob Have I
Loved, Isaiah tells us that “the lame took the prey.” (Is. 33.23) That is the lesson
Jacob learned at the Jabbok. That is where God broke his cheating, fleshly nature
and put something of himself into Jacob, giving him a new name, Israel, one who
strives with God.
Of course, the encounter at the Jabbok was only the climax. God had been
dealing with Jacob for a long time, in his flight from home, his being tricked by
Laban, the barrenness of his beloved Rachel, and now his fear of Esau. What we
see in Jacob is a man who had his flesh dealt with by God. He began life full of the
flesh, yet he believed in God and something within him drew him toward God.
His first efforts were to use God, but the Lord had other plans. He dealt with that
flesh and brought Jacob to the place where his flesh was crippled, but he was
strong with God. And so we come to Heb. 11.21, where we see Jacob not full of
flesh and cheating everyone around, but blessing his grandsons and worshipping
God. What a beautiful end God brought this stormy life to.
Why did God go to all this trouble with Jacob? There is one little word in
Gen. 25.27 that gives us a clue. God saw that Jacob was “a complete man.” What is
meant by such a statement? Jacob’s brother Esau is also seen in Hebrews, but not
in chapter 11. He appears in 12.16-17: “\u2026 so that no one be immoral or profane like
Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. For you also know that afterwards
when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he did not find a place
for repentance, even though he sought it with tears.” Esau was a good man in
many ways. He worked hard and made his own way in the world. But he was not
a complete man. He was immoral and profane, having no interest in the things of
God. He sold his right to succeed Isaac as the leader of God’s people for a single
meal. But Jacob, rascal that he was, had an interest in spiritual things. True, he
wanted to use God to get what he wanted, but he did have a regard for God. God
saw that interest in the things of God and knew he could work with such a man
and bring him through in the end. Don’t value the things of this world above the
things of God. Be a complete man, developed in body, soul, and spirit.
We see the faith of Jacob in the fact that the blessing and the worship
occurred “as he was dying.” Jacob had even less to go on that Abraham and Isaac.
At least they died in the Promised Land, but Jacob was dying in Egypt. The
promises of God never seemed more remote, yet he still believed God and trusted
him, and he passed on the promises and blessing of God, just as his father had<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the dealings of God with the flesh. The swindler became the blesser and the
worshipper. Jacob became a man of faith. Despite all, he had faith in God. We
seeing him exemplifying faith in yielding to the breaking by God of his flesh.
22By faith Joseph, when he was nearing the end, reminded concerning the
exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his bones.
The comments of Hebrews on Joseph begin in the same way as those on
Jacob: “as he was dying,” but there is a difference. The Greek words for “dying” are
different in the two verses. In the account of Jacob, the word simply means death
and emphasizes the cessation of life, but in the case of Joseph, the word signifies
the fulfillment of purpose, coming to the end, and not just in the sense of ceasing,
but in the sense of reaching the goal. The word looks back over the life that has
been lived and declares that it has fulfilled its purpose. That in itself is a marvelous
testimony about Joseph. He surely was a man with a purpose from God, that
purpose being to save from destruction the people of God who would produce the
Messiah after the flesh, and he did fulfill his purpose.
Joseph really was a man of faith, and the fact is seen in several ways.
Hebrews says that as he was dying, he mentioned the Exodus and gave
instructions about his bones. That alone is an expression of faith, for the Exodus
was not to occur for another four hundred years. Joseph’s instructions were that
his bones were to be carried back to the Promised Land and buried there. Joseph
was the second in command in Egypt, subordinate only to Pharaoh. He could have
had a pyramid erected as his tomb that would have been a magnificent monument
that would last even to our day, but he believed God had something better for his
people than worldly monuments and he wanted to be buried in the land of his
people.
We have emphasized that faith is believing what God says and acting on
that belief, and this is clearly seen in the case of Joseph in what Hebrews says about
him. Joseph lived a very eventful life and rose to a high position, but as he came
to the end of his life and looked back, he did not mention all the things God had
done, but instead mentioned something God had said. In Gen. 15.13-14 God said
to Abraham,
Know of a surety that your seed will be a stranger in a land that is not theirs,
and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And
also that nation, whom they will serve, I will judge, and afterward they will
come out with great substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Behold, I die, but God will be with you and bring you again to the land of your
fathers.” Joseph had heard the word of God from his father and perhaps from his
grandfather. He knew the promise of God that though the people of God would
be in a foreign land for four hundred years and would be slaves there, they would
be delivered by God and taken back to their land. As he neared the end of his own
life, he held by faith to that promise, believing God and giving instructions that
his bones be taken back. Joseph was a man of faith. He believed what God said
and acted on it.
It is of great interest that just as Joseph took note of what God had said as
he was dying that he got to be that kind of person by the things God did. Joseph
went through the fires of testing, and through them he was refined into the kind
of man God could use in a great way. As a young boy he lost his mother as she
died while bearing his brother Benjamin. Thus he grew up motherless, and he was
hated by his brothers because they knew he was the favorite of his father. Then he
was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. There he served faithfully and well in
the house of Potiphar, a high official, so well in fact that he was in charge of all
Potiphar’s affairs. In this very difficult circumstance of being a slave in a foreign
land at a tender age, Joseph remained faithful to God and served his earthly master
as though he were serving God, for indeed he was. Instead of being eaten up by
bitterness at his plight, he looked to God and rose to the top.
Potiphar’s wife, though, was a wicked woman and tried to seduce Joseph.
When he continually resisted she finally accused him falsely of trying to rape her
and Potiphar had him thrown into prison. There Joseph, innocent but in prison,
had another opportunity to become bitter toward God, but he took the same
course as before, continuing faithful to God and serving well in the prison. He
became such a model prisoner that the chief jailer put him in charge of the prison
and did not even bother to supervise what went on. Again Joseph remained true
to God and rose to the top.
His final chance at bitterness came when he interpreted the dreams of the
cupbearer and baker. These servants of Pharaoh had incurred their master’s wrath
and were thrown into prison. Each had a troubling dream which he could not
interpret. Joseph was able to interpret both dreams and it happened just as he said.
The baker was executed, but the cupbearer was restored to his old job. Joseph
reminded the cupbearer not to forget him when he returned to Pharaoh, but the
cupbearer did forget him and Joseph was left in the prison unjustly. Still, though,
he remained true to God.
Then when Pharaoh had his dream about the cows and the ears of grain,
Joseph finally came into the purpose for which God had been preparing him<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to save the world from famine, and more particularly, to save the people of God.
Through all this testing Joseph never turned against God, but always served
him faithfully whatever his circumstances were. Thus he became a man of faith, a
man who was able to hear the voice of God and who believed what God said, then
acted on it. And thus when he came to the end of his life, he talked of something
God had said instead of all that he had done, and he had done much.
In the case of each of the people of faith we have considered, we have noted
one outstanding way in which he exemplified faith. Joseph exemplified faith in
waiting for God’s time, enduring his trials with trust, and overcoming them. By
faith he was an overcomer. God had a great work for him to do, but he also had a
right time for it and a way of trial to prepare him for it. Joseph, trusting in God,
was willing to wait for God’s time and to be faithful to God in trial. Because Joseph
ruled over his circumstances he was able to rule over Egypt when the time came.
At the end of it all, when Jacob had died and his brothers feared that he would
then avenge himself on them for selling him into slavery, he told them that they
had meant it for evil, but that God had meant it for good. Joseph was a man who
knew that God has a purpose in everything that comes into the life of one of his
own, and he was willing to wait, enduring, for God’s time for it to be manifested,
both in his own experience and in the matter of the Exodus. He knew the prophecy
that it would be four hundred years before the people returned to the land, so he
gave instructions that his bones be held until the time, and then be taken back.
Joseph’s faith was refined in very difficult circumstances, but because he was
willing to wait for God’s time and to master his trials in faithfulness to God, he
was a man greatly used by God. May we have grace to learn from his example.
23By faith, Moses when born, was hidden for three months by his parents,
because they saw that the child was good, and they did not fear the edict of the
king.
The four-hundred-year period that Israel spent in Egypt began with Joseph
and ended with Moses. At the end of that time foreseen by Abraham, Jacob, and
Joseph, God raised up Moses to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage. Him
we will consider shortly, but first we see that his parents, Amram and Jochebed,
gained a place in Heb. 11. V. 23 tells us that by faith they hid Moses. This was really
a case of what today we would call civil disobedience. Pharaoh had ordered that
all male babies born to the Israelites be destroyed because Israel was becoming too
strong and arousing the fears of the Egyptians. The parents of Moses, though,
refused to obey the order. Why did they take such a risky course? They did it
because they had heard something from God and they were people of faith. They<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God had a plan for Moses and he communicated about that plan to his parents.
How much God told them we do not know, but that they heard from God about
Moses is clear, and they believed God to the point that they were willing to risk
disobedience to the order of Pharaoh.
Heb. 11.23 says that his parents saw that Moses was a good child. The word
translated \u201cgood\u201d in this passage is of deep interest. Ex. 2.2 says that Moses’
mother, “when she saw him that he was good, hid him three months.” The word
“good” is, of course, a general word that can have numerous meanings. How are
we to determine the meaning of this word in this context? Let us begin with the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. This translation uses the
Greek word asteios for the Hebrew “good” (tov). Acts 7.20 and Heb. 11.23 both use
this same Greek word in reporting this story of Moses’ birth. So our question is,
How are we to understand asteios?
The usual translations of this word into English have to do with beauty. My
New American Standard Bible translates it “lovely” in Acts 7.20 and “beautiful” in
Heb. 11.23. The English Standard Version, the Holman version, and the Revised
Standard Version all translate the word as “beautiful” in both verses. The New
International Version, which is very popular, but which I find to be “loose” with
the Greek, translates the word in both verses as “no ordinary” child. The other
versions cited are much more literal in translating Greek.
So – it seems to be generally accepted that the word means “beautiful.”
However, in light of the fact that God does not look on the outward appearance,
but on the heart (1 Sam. 16.7), it seems to me that we must look for something
deeper than outward beauty. Beauty is only skin deep, as \u201cthey\u201d say. It is
somewhat ironic that the NIV, which I see as not strictly accurate with the Greek,
gets at that deeper look more than the more literal versions. Moses was certainly
not ordinary!
Let us have a look at the history of the Greek word. Asteios comes from astu,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dweller. He is urban, of the city. Since it is generally believed that a city-dweller<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the word came to mean “urbane,” having good manners. The urbane person was
comfortable in society and knew how to conduct himself there. Assuming that a
city-dweller would likely not have the weathered complexion and worn hands of
a country-dweller who worked outdoors with animals and crops, the word came
to mean “beautiful.”
Since I have already stated that “beautiful” seems to me to be a shallow
reason for regarding Moses as a “good child,” let me say that I think the idea of
“urbane” gives us our clue. Keep in mind that we are dealing with spiritual things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He knew how to conduct himself in that realm. Look at how he matched wits with
Pharaoh (his sanctified wits after God’s dealings with him). Look at his calling on
God at the Red Sea and lifting his rod over the sea as the people passed through
on dry ground. See him striking the rock and having water gush out for his thirsty
people. Ex. 33.13 tells us that Moses asked God to let him know his ways, not just
his deeds, and Ps. 103.7 tells us that the Lord did just that. All through the forty
years of leading this stiff-necked people to the land of promise, Moses dealt with
crisis after crisis, all ultimately spiritual in nature. He was not perfect, but he had
learned how to function in the things of God. He was spiritually “urbane.”
F.F. Bruce, in his commentary on Hebrews, quotes Calvin as stating that “it
was not the external beauty of the child that moved them, since faith, like God
himself, does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart; rather ‘there
was some mark, as it were, of future excellency imprinted on the child, which gave
promise of something out of the ordinary.'” Let me suggest the “something.” Heb.
11 is the Bible’s great chapter on faith. What is faith? It is believing what God says
and acting on that belief. I believe that when Moses’ mother looked at her newborn
baby and saw that he was “good,” the Lord himself spoke to her heart that this
baby was not ordinary, but one who could function in the things of God, in the
spiritual world, to the extent that he could deliver the people of God from slavery
in Egypt and take them to the Promised Land. This was the greatest man in
Hebrew history that she was seeing in baby form. She probably could not have
articulated all that I have written here, but she knew that this was no ordinary
baby. That, I believe, is the import of the Hebrew tov, “good,” and the Greek asteion
in these verses. (See Richard Chenivix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, ed.
Robert O. Hoerber, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1989, pgs. 411-412, and F.F.
Bruce, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1964, p. 317.)
Hebrews says that Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king’s decree, and
this fact gets to the heart of how they exemplified faith. In Mt. 10.28 the Lord Jesus
said, “Don’t fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; rather
fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” John 9 tells us the story
of a man born blind whom Jesus healed. Since the healing took place on a Sabbath
it was against the law, so the Pharisees investigated. When they questioned the
man’s parents, they said to ask the man himself. V. 22 says, “His parents said these
things because they feared the Jews\u2026.” These two verses show us the fear of man
and the unwillingness of some to obey God because of the fear of what man can
do. Moses’ parents show us the opposite. They show us faith overcoming the fear
of man. We do not know very much about these two, but we do know that they
were people of faith who played a major role in spiritual history, at the risk of their<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God would use to deliver his people, that people who would eventually give birth
to the Messiah.
Fallen man in his natural state is opposed to God and will persecute those
who are true to God’s word. Thus those who fear man will turn away from God
when difficult times come. The Lord Jesus, John, Hebrews all tell us to fear God,
not man, so that when trials come we will be true to God. We can take
encouragement in this from the parents of Moses who, by faith, overcame the fear
of man.
Moses himself was a very great man, as we saw at the beginning of our
study of chapter 3 of Hebrews. He is listed next in Hebrews as a man of faith, in
vs. 24-28. Unlike the others named by Hebrews, Moses does not exemplify faith in
only one way (nor do they in reality), but in several. We are told three things about
him in this passage.
First, he left all the advantages of Egypt to identify with the people of God,
where there appeared to be no advantages:
24By faith Moses, having become grown, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh’s daughter, 25having chosen rather to be treated badly with the people
of God than to have the temporary pleasure of sin, 26considering the reproach
of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the
reward.
Moses had every worldly advantage. As the son of Pharaoh’s daughter he
had wealth, education, opportunity. Yet he had been nursed by his own mother
and thus he knew of the people of God and his identity with them. He had heard
something from God through his parents about Israel, and when the time for
choice came, he chose to believe God and act on that belief. He believed that what
God said about his plans for Israel outweighed all the advantages of Egypt. That
was faith, for the advantages of Egypt were seen while the promises to Israel were
both unseen and apparently impossible of fulfillment, for they were slaves in
Egypt. It was by faith that Moses made this choice.
In doing so he exemplified faith in two ways. First, he overcame the praise
of men. Jn. 12.43 warns of this spiritual danger. After the Lord Jesus had raised
Lazarus from the dead, many of the Jewish leaders believed in him, but they were
unwilling to admit it, for “they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of
God.” (This behavior illustrates what I have tried to emphasize, that not just belief,
but belief plus action based on the belief, is faith.) Rom. 2.29 points out the need to
receive praise from God, not from men. Moses had available to him all the praise
and glory of Egypt. He had simply to live by what was already his in Egypt and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pharaoh’s daughter. By faith he overcame the praise of men and sought the praise
of God. Heb. 11 tells us that he gained it.
At the same time Moses exemplified faith in overcoming the world. The
Apostle John tells us in 1 Jn. 2.15 not to love the world, and then says in 5.4 that
the victory that overcomes the world is faith. When Moses compared all the
worldly advantages that were his in Egypt with the eternal treasure of obedience
to God, he exercised faith in what God said and went with God’s people. He saw
an unseen reward. By faith he overcame the world. The writer of Hebrews says
that Moses considered \u201cthe reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of
Egypt.\u201d I like Lang\u2019s comment: \u201cBut if His reproach is of such inestimable worth,
what shall His reward be?\u201d (223)
27By faith he left Egypt, not having feared the rage of the king, for he endured
as seeing the one who is unseen. 28By faith he has kept the Passover and the
sprinkling of the blood, that the one destroying the ones of the firstborn might
not touch them.
The second thing that Moses did was to leave Egypt without fearing the
fury of Pharaoh. We may say that Moses did leave Egypt in great fear. After his
killing of the Egyptian was found out he left in fear for his life, but that was the
first time he left. The second time he left he was leading the people of God out,
and that is the time that Heb. 11 refers to. Pharaoh had forbidden the Israelites to
leave, and his word was law, but Moses did not fear Pharaoh. He feared God
instead (the beginning of wisdom) and obeyed him. By faith he acted on what God,
though unseen, said, rather than what Pharaoh said, though he was visible and
had a visible army backing him up. In this disobedience to Pharaoh Moses, like his
parents, overcame the fear of man. They taught him well.
Finally, Hebrews mentions Moses’ keeping of the Passover and the
sprinkling of the blood and says that these were done by faith. As God was about
to destroy all the firstborn of Egypt as the final plague that would cause Egypt to
let Israel go, he gave Moses instructions as to how Israel could avoid the judgment.
If they would slaughter a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and lintels of
their houses, when the death angel came he would see the blood and pass over.
Thus they would be spared. Moses believed what God said and obeyed him and
Israel was spared. This was an act of faith, for Moses had nothing to go on other
than the word of God. Nothing like this had ever been done before. There was no
apparent reason why lamb’s blood sprinkled on doorposts and lintel would avert
death, but Moses had learned to walk by faith, not by sight, and thus the word of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, like Abraham, Moses exemplified faith in obedience to God.
Most of these ways in which Moses showed faith have already been seen in
others listed in this chapter. There was one overriding way, though, in which
Moses exemplified faith, and it is the reason he was able to do so in these other
ways.
Ex. 2 tells us the story of the first attempt by Moses to deliver his people
from Egypt. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew he killed the Egyptian
and hid his body in the sand. The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting and tried
to mediate. The guilty one resisted and asked him, “Who made you a prince and a
judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Pharaoh
heard of the incident and sought to kill Moses, so Moses fled to Midian. Stephen,
in Acts 7.25, tells us that Moses thought his people understood that God was
granting them deliverance through him, but they did not.
There is a deep spiritual lesson in this experience of Moses. It is true that he
was called by God to deliver Israel. His problem was that he had not learned what
the Lord Jesus was talking about in Jn. 6.63 when he said that it is the Spirit that
makes alive; the flesh profits nothing. Moses sought to deliver Israel in his own
strength, his own methods, his own time. He was trying to deliver Israel for God.
God had to teach him that God would deliver Israel through him. Moses’ first
attempt to deliver Israel was “according to the flesh” (Rom. 8.4), and God had to
deal with that flesh.
That is the spiritual meaning of the forty years in Midian. We have seen the
great ability and the education of Moses. He was a man capable of ruling Egypt.
Instead he had to spend forty years tending sheep on the backside of the desert,
and worse still, they were not even his sheep! How he must have chafed under
this burden of wasted ability and training. How he must have thought of all that
he could be accomplishing under different circumstances. But that is how God
deals with the flesh. The purpose of God in all this was to deal with the flesh of
Moses and build something of himself into Moses so that he would be a man useful
to God. After forty years God had such a man, a man who had learned that he
could do nothing for God, that his fleshly ability and advantages were worthless
in the work of God. (This is because our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,
but against spiritual evil, Eph. 6.12, so our weapons must be not fleshly, but
powerful in God, 2 Cor. 4.4.) Then God called him at the burning bush, took him
back to Egypt, and used him to bring deliverance to his people. This time it was
God using Moses, not Moses doing it for God, and this time it worked.
In the case of Jacob we saw faith overcoming the flesh. We have the same
situation with Moses, but with a difference. We might say that with Jacob, faith
overcame bad flesh, and with Moses, overcame good flesh. That is not the best<\/p>\n\n\n\n
point is that Jacob’s flesh manifested itself in wicked ways, trying to cheat people
and even use God for his own advantage, whereas Moses’ flesh tried to work for
God to accomplish what God himself wanted. It tried to do good things. What we
have to learn is that no flesh is useful to God even though it may be trying to serve
him rather than opposing him. It is obvious that flesh trying to cheat and
manipulate must be dealt with, but no so obvious that flesh that is trying to
accomplish the will of God must be. But it must. Flesh is flesh no matter what it is
doing, and it cannot accomplish the will of God. Only as the flesh knows the touch
of the cross and is replaced by the life of God will a person be useful to God. That
is the lesson that Moses had to learn on the backside of the desert, and that is a
lesson that every child of God must learn if he is truly to be useful to him.
Moses exemplified faith in overcoming the praise of men, the world, and
the fear or man, and in obedience, but all of these sprang from the fact that his
flesh had been dealt with. He came to the point at which he believed what God
said about flesh and Spirit, and by faith overcame the flesh, well-intentioned as it
appeared to be. May we, like Moses, yield to the dealings of God with our flesh
that we may know something of his life working within and through us.
29By faith they went through the Red Sea as through dry ground, by which the
Egyptians, having taken a try, were swallowed up.
The people Moses led, the nation of Israel, are the next to be listed in Heb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
necked and rebellious against God, and indeed their sin led to forty years’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
destruction and their deportation to foreign lands. Nevertheless, they had their
moments. They were the people of God, and whatever failings they had, they
exercised enough faith to be cited by Hebrews.
Two incidents are reported in which they showed faith. The first was the
crossing of the Red Sea. The story is well known. After Israel left Egypt and the
Egyptians gave pursuit, they were trapped between the sea and the hostile army,
with the wilderness on either side. They cried out to Moses, not showing faith, but
rather stating that it would have been better for them to have died in Egypt. Moses
reassured them and then called on the Lord, who gave him the instructions about
lifting his staff over the sea and dividing the waters. The waters divided and a
highway of dry land was made through the sea.
At this point Israel faced a decision. Should they go through the sea or
should they hold back, not knowing if the waters would stay parted? Faith is
believing what God says and acting on it, and God had said that they would go<\/p>\n\n\n\n
what they believed. Of course, they made it through to the other side, but the
Egyptians, when they tried it, were drowned. Israel went by faith. God had told
them that they would go through and they went because God said so, not because
the highway was there. Egypt went by sight. They heard nothing from God, but
went because the waters had divided. Faith makes it through. Sight drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, having been encircled for seven days.
The second event reported by Hebrews is the conquest of Jericho. Again the
story is well known. After the crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land,
Israel came to Jericho, the first city to be conquered. God revealed his plan for
taking the city and if ever a plan called for faith, this one did. The normal ways of
taking a city were to send a horde of soldiers who would simply overwhelm the
city, or to lay siege and starve it out. But God told Joshua to have the soldiers
march around the city once a day for six days, then to march around it seven times
on the seventh day. Seven priests with seven rams’ horns were to march with the
Ark at the head of the procession. After the seventh circuit of the city on the
seventh day, the priests were to blow the rams’ horns and all the people were to
shout, and the city walls would fall down. Then the army would go in and take
the city.
Again Israel was faced with a decision. The plan of God looked absurd. Was
Israel to believe God and do as he said or use more conventional means? Again,
faith is believing what God says and acting on it. God had said this plan would
work and the people believed him. They did as he directed and it did work. The
city fell into their hands.
There is one verse in Ex. 14, where the story of the crossing of the Red Sea
is recorded, that gets to the heart of these expressions of faith on the part of Israel.
In Ex. 14.14 Moses said to Israel, “I AM will fight for you and you will hold your
peace.” That is the key to victory. When Israel realized that God was fighting for
them and that victory depended on him, not on them, they were victorious. Thus
in these two accounts Israel exemplified faith by resting in the victory of the Lord.
That is a vital lesson for all of us to learn. We have stressed throughout our
treatment of Hebrews that we are involved in a spiritual war, but that our Lord
Jesus has already defeated and rendered powerless our enemy, Satan (Col. 2.15,
Heb. 2.14, 1 Jn. 3.8). If we as Christians can get a grasp of that truth, then we can
move in victory because we are no longer trying to win victory, but are resting in
the victory of the Lord already won. It is the Lord who fights for us and he has
already won. Bless his name!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
show the faith of Israel. The history of Israel pictures the spiritual history of an
individual as well as being the actual historical record of a nation. The crossing of
the Red Sea is a picture of salvation. Egypt in the Bible represents the lost
condition, the world. The crossing of the Red Sea pictures moving out of that lost
condition. Hebrews shows us that the move was made by faith, and that says to
us what the New Testament says to us about our spiritual salvation: it is by faith.
Paul is the great preacher of salvation by faith. In Rom. 3.28 he says, “For we
consider a man to be justified by faith without works of law.” In Eph. 2.8-9 he says,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of you. It is God\u2019s
gift, not of works, that no one may boast.” In Phil. 3.9 he says that he wants to “be
found in him, not having my righteousness which is from law, but that through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God by faith.” The Bible is abundantly clear,
and it is one of the foundation stones of Christianity, that we are saved by faith,
not by works, just as Israel crossed the Red Sea by faith.
Jericho, though, is in the land of promise. Just as Egypt pictures the lost
condition, the wilderness symbolizes the experience that most Christians have of
having been saved, but not yet having entered into real victory in the Lord. They
fail the Lord, they know defeat, they feel as though they are wandering in a
spiritual wilderness. The Promised Land shows us the victorious life. It is not a
picture of Heaven, our ultimate goal, but of victory in this life. There were many
battles to be fought, many cities to be taken, but it was done in victory because the
people had learned to rest in the Lord’s victory. That is the case in Christian life.
When the Christian comes to realize that the Lord Jesus has won and that he has
merely to rest in that, he begins to experience victory in his life. The important
point is that we see that this moving into victorious living comes in the same way
that crossing the Red Sea (salvation) did. It is by faith. We live victoriously by faith
just as we were saved by faith. We were saved because God said we were and we
believed it and trusted in him. We live in victory because God says that the Lord
Jesus has triumphed and we believe it and rest in him. We do not try to conquer
Satan. We recognize that the Lord Jesus already has, and we rest in that
accomplished fact. Whatever the outward circumstances and inward thoughts and
feelings may be, we stand on the word of God, that Jesus is Lord and all will turn
out in the end. It will be worth it all. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15.57)
31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those having been
disobedient, having received the spies with peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
very unlikely candidate. Indeed, she was a prostitute. The Lord Jesus had no
problem with shocking the self-righteous Pharisees by associating with
prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners, and the Spirit of God had no problem with
inspiring the writer of Hebrews to include such a woman in his record of faith.
How, we may ask, did such a person come to be included in such company as
Abraham, Joseph, and Moses? The answer is simple. She, as they did, believed
what God said and acted on that belief. Our standing before God is not based on
works, but on faith. This is not to say that our works are not important, for we will
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged and rewarded according
to our works, but this will not be with regard to salvation. We are all sinners and
not one of us is any better than this woman. Israel was the people of God. They
had the advantages of revelations made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. They
had seen God do miracles. This woman Rahab came from a pagan background.
She knew nothing of the true God. She had no real basis for being the right kind
of woman. Before we judge her, let us think of our own spiritual advantages and
disadvantages, and read 1 Tim. 5.24-25. Yet despite all her background and
wickedness, when the reports came of what the God of Israel was doing,
something in her responded. God is the God who is able to break through great
sinfulness and win the heart. So he did in her case, and when she heard what God
was doing, she cooperated with him. In 1 Cor. 3.9 Paul says that we are workers
with God, and that is how Rahab exemplified faith: she cooperated with God.
Rahab believed that God was doing something, even in a situation that to
her must have been very bad. Her city and friends were about to be destroyed. All
that she had known would soon be gone. Yet she decided to cooperate with God
in this great work, and as a result her life and the lives of her family were spared.
She still asks us the question, Are we cooperating with God in what he is doing in
our lives, no matter how difficult it may be? If we really do believe God and choose
to exercise faith in him, we will work with him, not against him.
The way in which Rahab was saved is also instructive to us. She was told
to hang a scarlet cord in the window and when Israel’s army saw the cord they
were to spare the inhabitants of the house. It is no accident that the cord was
scarlet. The color red in the Old Testament is prophetic of the blood of Christ. On
that first Passover night when the death angel destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt,
he saw the red blood of the lambs on the doorposts and lintels and passed over
Israel. When God comes in judgment he passes over those who are under the blood
of Christ. When the army of Israel came in judgment on Jericho they passed over
those who were under the scarlet cord. It is another picture of salvation by the
blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
fell, those who were under the scarlet cord were taken out. That is a picture of our
blessed hope as Christians. A Great Tribulation is coming on this world, a mighty
judgment of God on the wickedness of the world, and it is the hope of those under
the blood of Christ that they will be taken out of this world and meet the Lord
before that terrible day comes, if they are still living at that time. That is his
promise to us. What hope we have. What sure hope. It is based on the word of our
God. Just as he will pass over us in judgment, so he will take us out before that
final judgment falls. “Amen, come, Lord Jesus.”
32And what say I? For time will fail me in telling about Gideon, Barak, Sampson,
Jephthah, and David, and Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith
conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, shut the
mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
were made strong from weakness, were made strong in war, put foreign armies
to flight.
Heb. 11 now comes to a close with a listing of a few other Old Testament
people of faith and a few general comments about their exploits and those of others
who are unnamed. The specific way in which each individual exemplified faith is
not dealt with, but as we consider the passage two prominent themes will emerge.
We will make a brief comment about each person named and then go on to these
themes.
The first mentioned is Gideon. Gideon lived during the time of the judges,
and a study of his story in the book of that name will reveal an ordinary man who
nonetheless believed God and thus was useful to him.
Barak was another figure in Judges. He is characterized by believing what
God said through another, in this case the prophetess Deborah. There is a
peculiarity to this story though. Deborah told Barak that God would deliver Israel
through him. He believed and agreed to take on the task, but said that he would
do so only if Deborah accompanied him. She went, but told Barak that since he
had taken this position he would not receive the glory for his conquest, but a
woman would. It happened just that way. Barak won the battle, but his opposing
general, Sisera, fled and was killed by a woman before Barak could catch him. The
point is that all Barak needed was the Lord, and while he believed, he also looked
to human help. Thus God used him, but gave the glory to another. We do indeed
need the fellowship and strength of fellow Christians, but it is the Lord alone on
whom we rely, not the arm of flesh.
Still in the book of Judges, Hebrews mentions Samson. Samson was a man
who was very fleshly, yet he believed God. God used him, but one cannot help<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spiritual man.
The final person from Judges who is listed is Jephthah, the man who made
the vow to dedicate to the Lord the first thing to come out of his house on his
return home if he won the victory, and who regretted his vow when his beloved
daughter, his only child, was the first to come out. A study of Judges reveals that
Jephthah was a man wise in the affairs of the world, but who still trusted in God.
He is an Old Testament picture of the words of the Lord Jesus in Mt. 10.16: “Be
shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.”
David is one of the great figures of Old Testament history. The outstanding
characteristic of this man was his heart. He was a man after God’s own heart (1
Sam. 13.14). God does not look on the outward appearance, but on the heart (1
Sam. 16.7), and when he saw the heart of David he saw a man who was his. Even
when David committed the grievous sin of adultery and then murder to cover it
up, God forgave him because he knew David’s heart. He knew David was
sincerely repentant for his sin, not just sorry he got caught.
Samuel came along at the end of the period of the judges and at the
beginning of the time of the prophets. He overlapped the two, serving somewhat
in both capacities. More than anything else he was a man of the word of God, and
what an example of faith he is, for “faith comes from hearing and hearing through
the speaking of Christ.” (Rom. 10.17) Judges paints a dark time in Israel spiritually,
a time of real wandering away from God, ending with the note that everyone did
what was right in his own eyes during that time. Then 1 Sam. 3.1 says that at the
time Samuel was born, the word of God was rare. What a low state Israel had sunk
to. But the end of that chapter, 1 Sam. 3.20-21, tells us that Samuel was a prophet
through whom the word of God came to the nation again.
Finally, Heb. 11 mentions the prophets without naming any of them. They,
like Samuel, were men of the word. Over and over in the prophetic books we read
the words, “Thus says the Lord\u2026.” Above all they were the men who heard and
declared what God said.
All of these, along with the others already dealt with in Heb. 11, are given
as examples of faith. They heard something from God and believed it and trusted
in him, and so they were used by him. Thus they gained his approval and became
examples to us.
After naming these last few individuals Hebrews goes on to deal with their
experiences. Most of the ones named conquered kingdoms, did righteousness,
obtained promises. Samson and Daniel shut the mouths of lions. Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego quenched the power of fire. David among others escaped
the edge of the sword. They were all made strong from weakness. Most became
strong in war and put foreign armies to flight. The widow of Zarephath and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elisha. As Hebrews says, we could go on and on naming great feats from the Old
Testament, but time would fail us.
35Women received their dead by resurrection, but others were tortured, not
having accepted release, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36And
others received the trial of public mockings and scourgings, but more, chains
and prison. 37They were stoned, sawn in two, died by killing of the sword, went<\/p>\n\n\n\n
treated 38(of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in wildernesses and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, Hebrews lists some experiences not of conquering, but of suffering.
The writer says that some were tortured, others were mocked and scourged, some
knew chains and prison, some were stoned, some were sawn in two. All were
tempted and some were put to death with the sword. Some went about in animal
skins, destitute, mistreated, having no homes, but living in caves and holes in the
ground. We do not know the historical reference for some of these experiences,
but we do for most. The point Hebrews makes is that these people suffered in these
ways by faith. They had heard that God had something wonderful for those who
would be faithful to him no matter what, and they believed him. They believed
that the comforts and pleasures of this world would pass away, but that God
would reward those who remained true to him.
We noted above that two themes would emerge as we considered these
verses. Those two themes are that some are called by God to do great exploits for
him, to conquer for him. Others are called to suffer. The important point is not
whether one conquers or suffers, but whether or not he does what he does by faith.
The factor that is common to both groups is faith. If God calls one to conquer he
can do so only by faith, for the power is not of man, but of God. If God calls one to
suffer, he can do that only by faith, for one would not be able to endure trial if he
did not believe it was worth it and trust in God to see him through. All these
people overcame, some through conquering, some through suffering, and all by
faith. In fact, those who suffered also conquered, remaining faithful to God despite
the temptations to turn away in suffering.
So at the end of this great chapter in God’s word we see faith conquering
for God and faith suffering for God. And Hebrews adds the note that the world
which inflicted their suffering was not worthy of them. By stooping so low as to
persecute the people of God the world revealed its unworthiness. The world went
by sight, and so did not please God. These went by faith, believing what God said
and acting on that belief, and so showed their worthiness of him, not in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
obedience. The world measures worthiness by outward things, but there is coming
a time when all that will be stripped away and the hearts of men will be laid bare.
Then those who are truly worthy will be revealed.
39And these all, having received a testimony through faith, did not receive the
promise, 40God having foreseen something better for us, that they might not be
perfected without us.
The final two verses of Heb. 11 say that all of these who are listed gained
God’s approval through faith, but did not receive what was promised, and it gives
a reason why they did not receive it. The reason is that God had something better
for us so that without us they would not be perfected. These thoughts say two or
three things to us.
First, they tell us that God’s people are corporate. He never intended for
anyone to be his person on his own. That is what Paul means by the term “body of
Christ.” Perfection will come only in a body of people who are one in the Lord.
Just as a hand severed from a body will die, so will a Christian who is not in
fellowship with other Christians, but is trying to make it on his own. The Lord is
building a living structure made of living stones to dwell in. Perfection will be
reached when he completes his building, made of people like you and me, and
moves in. What a day that will be!
Then these verses point to the Lord Jesus. He, above all, is what God had
that is better. That is one of the main theses of Hebrews, the superiority of Christ.
As great as these Old Testament examples were, they did not know Christ. They
could not enter the Holy of Holies. They were under law, not grace, though they
certainly knew grace. God had something better than that. He had a torn veil, an
open Heaven, a living relationship with his Son. All that could come only when
the Lord Jesus came in the flesh, gave his life, and was raised from the dead. All
that we have and are in Christ is the something better that God had.
Finally, all these, with exceptions for special reasons of Enoch and Elijah,
died in faith. They never received what God promised, but they went to their
graves believing God nonetheless. That is real faith! What examples they are
indeed! But they have a great promise even though they did not know about it
during their lives on earth. They have the promise of resurrection. God will raise
them from the dead. They will come out of those ancient graves alive! But God
had something better. There will be those alive at the return of Christ who will not
taste death, but will be caught up alive to meet the Lord in the air. As wonderful
as resurrection from the dead is, how much better it would be not to experience
death, but to see the Lord’s return. We do not know when the Lord will come, but<\/p>\n\n\n\n
lifetime, that we might not go through the cold waters of death, but be caught up
to the throne (Rev. 12.5) or meet him as he descends (1 Thess. 4.16-17). That is
something better that God has for us. “Amen, come, Lord Jesus.”
The Purpose of Endurance
Heb. 12.1-29
The twelfth chapter of Hebrews is the final part of a long passage in the
epistle that begins with 10.26. Heb. 10.26-31 points out the danger of falling away,
10.32-39 exhorts to endure to the end, and chapter 11 tells us how to endure, by
faith. That is the real point of Heb. 11. Its context is one of endurance in trial and
questionings, and it is pointing out how the great men and women of the Old
Testament endured their trials. They did it by believing what God said and
trusting in him. Now we come to chapter 12 where these thoughts on endurance
are concluded. Vs. 1-4 show us the Lord Jesus as the example of endurance under
trial, 5-13, the purpose of endurance, 14-17, some practical expressions of
accepting discipline, 18-24, a final assertion of the superiority of Christ, and 25-29,
a final exhortation to endure. We begin with vs. 1-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
having laid aside every weight and the easily entangling sin, LET US run with
endurance the race lying before us, 2<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
faith, Jesus, who for the joy lying before him endured the cross, having despised
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider
the one having endured such hostility by sinners against him, that you may not
become sick in your souls, giving up.
4You have not yet resisted to blood struggling against sin,
There are no chapter and verse divisions in the original New Testament
writings. These were added much later, in the 16th century. Thus at this point
Hebrews reads,
And these all, having been attested through faith, did not obtain the
promise, God foreseeing something better for us, that they might not be
perfected without us. Therefore we also, having so great a cloud of
witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the entangling sin,
LET US run with endurance the race set before us, looking off to the founder
and perfecter of faith, Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of God.
I have long believed that the Lord Jesus lived on earth as a man by faith,
just as we have to do, not by his divinity. We see it here. All these walked by faith.
In your endeavor to walk by faith, fix your eyes on Jesus, who also walked by faith.
Indeed he is the originator of faith, and he is its perfecter. Trusting God, he
endured the cross. It is of great significance that the Lord became a man like us
and lived as we do. Morgan deals beautifully with this reality and I want to quote
him at some length. Please bear with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the supremacy and authority of the Son of God. Without for a moment
departing from that conception, in these words he places Him on a level
with ordinary human life. It is significant that here he makes use of the
human name, \u201cLooking unto Jesus.\u201d It is true that he does that again and
again in the course of the letter; but there is a significance in its use here.
Glancing back over chapter eleven, we read names: Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and others, and at last JESUS. He is in the
same line, in the same succession, the same humanity, and the same race.
By a transcending act of literary inspiration, he says in effect, The Son of
God Who is supreme and final, lived His life on the same level, and by the
same principle that men are ever called to live.
I think the reader of this verse in his Greek New Testament would
inevitably be arrested by this first word, \u201cLooking.\u201d It places no such arrest
upon the mind of the English reader, which I think is the fault of translation.
Weymouth, in his rendering, has given due weight to the Greek word, as
he has it, \u201cLooking off unto Jesus.\u201d If we are reading the New Testament in
all the stories of Jesus, and those in the Acts, and indeed in the letters, we
constantly necessarily find the writers making reference to the use of the
eyes; and in our English language, as in the Greek, different words are
employed to signify the differing use of the eyes. In the Greek there is a
word which simply means looking in the ordinary sense. There is yet
another which means to look with perception, with understanding. There
is another which implies earnestly inspecting as we look. There is another
which means to watch critically. These are but illustrations, which might be
multiplied. All this to emphasize the fact that in the word employed here
by the writer of this letter, we have one that has never before occurred in
the New Testament, and is never again found. [Actually, the word does
occur in Phil. 2.23, an oversight by Morgan.] It has as its root significance, a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the looking of complete apprehension, not the look of investigation, not the
look of critical activity, but the look that suggests amazement, the seeing of
something which has completely captured the mind. Here, however, that
root is strengthened by a prefix apo, which suggests not merely the staring
with wide-open eyes, but such complete capture by the thing seen that all
other visions have faded. We are to look off. The supreme value of it is
gathered by a contrast between it, and what has already been said. We are
to see the witnesses, but there is another vision which will turn off our eyes
even from them, and from all other matters. The word suggests the element
of surprise, and secondly, that of such complete capture as to make one
unmindful of all else. (128-130)
After looking at the great cloud of witness who inspire and exhort, we look
away from them to the one who founded and inspired their faith and who himself
lived perfectly by faith. Look away. Look away to Jesus.
Exhortation
“Therefore” is the first word of Heb. 12. This word is always important in
the Bible, for it is calling our attention to something. It means that because what
has just been said is true, what follows must also be true or be done. In this case
Hebrews says that since chapter 11 is true, that is, that we are surrounded by a
host of men and women who endured their trials by faith and thus gained God’s
approval, so must we endure. We come to another exhortation, another “LET US.”
LET US lay aside everything that encumbers, and sin, and run with endurance the
race before us.
Encumbrances are those things that are not evil in themselves, but which
are less than God has for us, or which take so much of our attention that there is
not time left for God. The Lord Jesus names several in Mk. 10.29-30: house,
brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, fields. All these things are good things.
They are blessings of God, but if they are allowed to take first place in our lives
they will become an encumbrance in running our spiritual race. We live in an age
of entertainment and it is easy to become wrapped up in television, movies, music,
sports, and so forth. These things are not necessarily sinful, though many
individual expressions are, but they can take too much of one’s time. Next time
you find that you do not have time to read your Bible and pray, ask yourself how
many hours you spent in from of the television or working on your hobby. Lay all
these things aside. That does not necessarily mean to get rid of them or not do
them, but make sure they do not take up so much of your life, either in affection<\/p>\n\n\n\n
best, and these good things can rob us of a deep relationship with the Lord. They
should be enjoyed under his lordship or they should be done away with.
It is obvious, of course, that we must lay aside sin. We cannot please God
and sin, for sin in its very nature is displeasing to God. We cannot give up all but
one little sin and hold on to it. God demands that we surrender all to him, our
whole selves and all our sins. We cannot run the race with sin dragging us down.
Just as a runner in a race has a finish line, fixes his eyes on that goal, and
runs as hard as he can to get there, so we have a goal to fix our eyes on. That goal
is the Lord Jesus, and him as he fits into the context of Heb. 10.26-12.29. We have
been discussing enduring by faith, and that is just what this verse says of the Lord
Jesus. He is the founder of faith, and he is its perfecter. As a man of faith he had a
race to run, and it included severe trial that culminated in the cross, but he had a
goal set before him, all that the word joy implies in this verse, so he endured and
he reached the goal. His goal was to sit down at the right hand of the throne of
God in Heaven. That was the joy set before him and it means so much. Paul tells
us in Phil. 2 that God has exalted the Lord Jesus highly and given him the name
that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and
every tongue confess that he is Lord. Rom. 8.17 and Heb. 1.2 tells us that the Lord
Jesus is God’s Heir and that God intends to give him everything he has. How much
the Lord had set before him if he would endure to the end! What joy! Because of
it, Hebrews says, he “endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.”
I want to add here, though, that I believe there was a much greater joy that
the Lord Jesus endured to the end to gain. We know that he came to do the will of
his Father and that a part of that will was that the Father would forsake him at the
cross. It is probably difficult for most of us to grasp just what that means. The Lord
Jesus and the Father had been in a perfect love relationship eternally. Nothing, not
the tiniest thing, had ever come between them. All who know the joy of a deeply
satisfying love relationship will have some small idea of that experience of the
Lord. Then the Father whom he had always loved and submitted to with
perfection, and who had always had nothing but the greatest love and approval
for his Son, turned his back on him at the cross. I believe that forsaking by the
Father was an experience of hell by our Lord Jesus. Ultimately, hell is the absence
of God, and where God is absent, there is nothing good and everything is pure
agony. Then, of course, the Father turned back to him and raised him from the
dead, restoring him to that perfect relationship. There can be nothing greater than
perfect, but were it possible, that relationship is now even more perfect. It has the
added dimension that the obedience of the Lord Jesus went to the very depths, to
hell, to be pleasing to the Father. As deep as he sank, so high has he been exalted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of his Father. God has spoken more than once, “This is my beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased.” Imagine the joy of the Lord Jesus in hearing that word once more
after his obedience even to the death of a cross. Yes, the high exaltation is
wonderful, but the Lord Jesus is a servant, a slaughtered Lamb, by nature. He does
not seek a throne, for his greatest joy is ever to please his Father. That is the very
reason he has been exalted to the throne where he will always be the Lion of Judah
who appears as a sacrificed Lamb (Rev. 5.5-6). And do we not ourselves long to
hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
There is one more aspect of the joy set before the Lord, which we see
especially in Eph. 5 and in Rev. 19 and 21. All those who have gone to the altar to
be united in holy matrimony with the beloved have some idea of the joy of the
Lord Jesus in receiving his bride. After all, one reason he came to this earth was to
die for lost mankind that he might take from mankind a bride to reign with him
forever. I believe that far more important to him than the throne, for again he does
not seek a throne, but to serve, was the receiving of his bride. All through these
two millenniums since his resurrection and exaltation he has been waiting for his
bride. Someday, soon we believe, she will be prepared for him and he will come
to receive her. Can you imagine his joy when he looks on his beloved, the one he
died for, as she is presented before him and before his Father, a glorious bride,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing? That same joy awaits us if we are
faithful to him to the end. That is the message of Hebrews. Just as the Lord Jesus
endured the cross, despising the shame for the joy set before him, so may we
endure our cross, despising the shame for the joy set before us. He longs for his
bride. We long for him. Oh may that day hasten to come!
Again Hebrews stresses the humanity of the Lord Jesus. We tend to place
more emphasis on his divinity, and indeed there are many who deny his divinity
so that we should affirm it vigorously, but we should not do so at the expense of
his humanity. He was fully divine and fully human and his humanity is every bit
as important as his divinity. If he was not human then he is no example for us and
was not qualified to be our Savior. We would only expect God to endure under
trial and to emerge sinless and victorious, but a man, that is a different matter.
That is just what we could not do, and what the Lord Jesus did do as a man. The
Bible is quite clear that the Lord Jesus lived his earthly life as a man and by faith.
He did not draw on his divine knowledge and power. He relied exclusively on
God by faith as a man. He is the founder and perfecter of faith as a man. As such,
he is our Savior and Example. Because he is a man like us who endured and has
gone to Heaven, we can fix our eyes on him in our race and run toward him with
endurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
epistle: Literally the verse says, “that you may not become sick in your souls and
give up.” The book of Hebrews was probably written to Jewish Christians who
were facing the delayed return of Christ, the deepening division between Judaism
and Christianity, and the rise of persecution, and its purpose is to exhort them to
endure with Christ to the end, and its message applies to all of us today who face
questions and trials. This verse states the negative side of it. Do not become
discouraged and give up. The positive side we have just seen: there is joy set before
us just as there was for Christ. He is our joy. Let us fix our eyes on our great
Example and run with endurance the race set before us.
As a final encouragement in v. 4 Hebrews points out that the suffering of
the Lord Jesus exceeded anything the Jewish Christians had yet been called on to
endure. He shed his own blood. Though many have since shed their blood for the
Lord, no one has or ever will drink the dregs of suffering that he did for us.
Whatever we are called on to endure, he suffered more and did so victoriously.
5and you have completely forgotten the encouragement which is addressed to
you as sons, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline or give up being
rebuked by him, 6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
son whom he receives.” [Prov. 3.11-12 LXX] 7For discipline you endure. God is
dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not
discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become
partakers, you are illegitimate and not sons. 9Furthermore we had fathers of our
flesh, disciplinarians, and we respected them. Will we not much more be in
subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10For they were disciplining for a few
days as seeming good to them, but he for the benefiting for us to receive of his
holiness. 11Now all discipline at the time does not seem to be joy, but sorrow,
but later it yields the fruit of righteousness that makes for peace to those having
been trained by it.
12Therefore set straight the drooping hands and the weakened knees [Job
4.3-4, Is. 35.3] 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may
not be turned aside, but rather be healed.
In vs. 5-13 Hebrews turns to a consideration of the reason that God puts us
into situations where we have to endure. Why do we have all these trials anyway?
We are told that they are the discipline of the Lord. That word “discipline” at its
root in Greek means “child training.” The point is that we are God’s children and
he is raising us. A child has to be disciplined as he grows up or he will become a
person unable to fit into society and relate to other people, unable to control the
appetites that, left uncontrolled, will bring destruction. Discipline includes both<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sometimes. The trials that we go through are God’s way of training us as his
children, of teaching us to look to him and of turning us from our wrong ways to
him.
In the first place, the Lord’s discipline is evidence of our sonship. Every
earthly father worthy of the name disciplines his children. He loves them and
knows they must be properly brought up if they are to be able to deal successfully
with adult life. One does not discipline the children of others, though. It is just so
with God. If we do not undergo his discipline we are not his. Even though
discipline is unpleasant, it should cause us to give thanks, for it is evidence that
we are children of God. He disciplines those whom he loves.
Heb. 12.10 gets at the real purpose of this child training. Its purpose is our
holiness or sanctification. Holiness, we have seen, does not basically mean
morality or even separation for God, as we are usually taught, though it does
include these concepts, but at its base it means difference, uniqueness. It refers to
God. He is the only one who is holy. Yet one of the remarkable statements of the
Bible is that we are to be holy. That is, we are to be like God, and 1 Jn. 3.2 promises
that the goal will be achieved when we see the Lord Jesus. How do we become like
God? Through the discipline of the Lord. Faithfulness to God under trial makes us
like him. Through trial God deals with our flesh, our self-centeredness, applying
the cross to it, and develops our spirits, spirits that filled with his Spirit express
likeness to God. Instead of rebelling against hardship, we should understand that
it is the discipline of the Lord, designed to instruct us, correct us, make us holy, fit
us to reign eternally with Christ. Lang has an excellent comment on our need to
be patient with discipline: \u201cPaul did not glory in tribulation for its own sake, but
because it developed that patience which is the quiet atmosphere in which other
graces grow (Rom. 5.3-5, Jas. 1.2-4).\u201d (239) He adds, \u201cThe heart must be concerned,
not to escape the trials of life, but to profit by them.\u201d (240)
Going on with this line of thought, let us look more deeply into this matter
of sonship. The concept of sonship in the Bible has to do primarily with maturity.
When we are born again, we are babies. We grow into childhood. The tragedy is
that so many Christians never grow up spiritually. They remain children till the
end. But God wants mature sons who are trained to reign with Christ in the
kingdom and on into eternity. That is what Hebrews is dealing with in this
passage. He is reminding his readers that they are not to be discouraged by
discipline, which usually comes in the form of trial, but to be aware that God is
maturing them into sons who will have their place in the kingdom, \u201cconcerning
which we speak.\u201d
Heb. 7.3 says that Melchizedek was “made like the Son of God.” What a
statement to make about a man! He was obviously a mature follower of God, king<\/p>\n\n\n\n
says that he was greater than Abraham, as the tithes prove. Melchizedek is an
example of sonship.
But the Lord Jesus is the greatest example. He is the eternal Son of God and
needs no maturing in that sense, but Hebrews makes one of its most remarkable
statements in saying that he was matured [as a man] through the things he
suffered (2.10), and in that very verse he says that in that process God was bringing
many sons to glory. He wants many, many more mature sons like his dear Son.
Another remarkable statement in the same vein is 5.8: the Lord Jesus learned
obedience through what he suffered. Heb. 2.14-18 and 4.14-16 should also be read
in this context. Heb. 3.6 says that he was faithful as a Son over God’s house. One
of the objectives of his incarnation was to begin the building of that spiritual house
for God to dwell in (Eph. 2.22, 1 Pt. 2.5). That faithfulness over this building project
was a part of the learning process, the maturing, of the Lord Jesus that qualified
him to reign eternally. He succeeded where Adam, and all of us, failed in ruling
over the creation (2.6-9, quoting Ps. 8.4-6 LXX).
What was the result of this discipline of the Lord Jesus? He has been exalted
to the throne of God over the universe (1.8). He was able to pass through the
heavens to Heaven unobstructed by Satan, the defeated foe, as we saw in 4.14. He
was raised from the dead (5.5, Acts 13.33). He was appointed High Priest (7.28).
He was able to establish the new covenant in his blood (10.29).
A Greek word that does not occur in Hebrews needs to be considered
because of its importance in this context. It is the word that most translations
render as “adoption” in Rom. 8.15, 23, 9.4, Gal. 4.5, and Eph. 1.5. However, the
literal meaning of the word, uiothesia, is “son placing,” that is, the placing of a
matured son in his place of responsibility. Keep in mind that we are not adopted
into God’s family. We are born again, spiritually, into his family. We are born
children of God, not adopted. Eph. 1.5 says that predestination does not apply to
the saving of the lost, but to the maturing of the children of God: we are
predestined for maturity, for son placing, for being installed in our place of
responsibility under the King in his kingdom.
Those who would maintain that the word refers to our adoption by God
when we are saved need to look at Rom. 8.23. It says very clearly that son placing,
not adoption, is what we groan for in this age and that the fulfilling of that
groaning is our “son placing, the redemption of our body.” The son placing is the
redemption of our body. That occurs as Christ returns and raises those who have
died in him and catches up those who are still alive in him at that point, and the
changing of the bodies of all of them in an instant into spiritual, glorified bodies
no longer subject to disease, death, and decay. It could not refer to being adopted
into God’s family at initial salvation because it does not occur until the return of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
during this life will be placed in our positions of responsibility under the King, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom. 8.14-15 say that if we are being led by the Holy Spirit (= mature, or
maturing, sons) we are sons of God, and that we have received the Spirit of son
placing, that Spirit that groans for our son placing, the redemption of our body (v.
23). Rom. 9.4 says that son placing belongs to Israel. That is, just as salvation is of
the Jews (Jn. 4.22), so is son placing. All of God’s blessings on his people come
through the Jews, to those who have faith as Abraham did, he through whom all
the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12.3), that is, with the Messiah who
offers salvation to all.
Gal. 4.1-2 says that a child who is an heir is not different from a slave,
though he is lord of all, while he is still a child, for his father has him under
guardians and stewards until the date of his majority. But when he is matured, he
becomes a son and is placed in authority. Then v. 5 says that in the same way we
will receive our son placing, having been redeemed from under the law (our
guardian and steward). When we are matured under the discipline of God in this
life, we have places of responsibility along with the King in the coming millennial
kingdom, and into eternity.
So we see the great importance of going on toward maturity with the Lord
and remaining faithful to the end. Our place in his kingdom depends on it. He is
trying to train us to reign with him. Let us submit to his discipline and allow him
to accomplish this task.
No discipline is pleasant, yet it yields fruit that more than makes up for it.
Just as the Lord Jesus was perfected through suffering, learned obedience through
what he suffered, and gained the right hand of the throne of God by faithful
endurance of suffering, so we have great gain with God when we yield to his
discipline. Though the trial itself is unpleasant, we believe that it will yield the
peaceful fruit of righteousness, a life that is in harmony with God and a place in
that blessed fellowship who will make up the bride of Christ. Life can be very hard,
but it is worth it all if we are true to Christ.
Exhortation
Therefore take encouragement. Do not let the weak hands and feeble knees
collapse, but strengthen them through faith in what God has promised. Let life’s
difficulties heal rather than destroy by trusting in God who is able to use those
hardships for good, to make us like him. That is the purpose of endurance. Saphir
says that these two verses, 12-13, recall 12.1, \u201crun with endurance the race set
before us.\u201d (II, 827).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
15watching over so that no one be falling short of the grace of God, so that no
root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and through it many be defiled,
16so that no one be an immoral person or profane like Esau, who for a single meal
sold the things of his birthright. 17For you also know that afterwards he wanting
to inherit the blessing, was rejected, for he did not find a place for repentance
even though he sought it with tears.
Warning and Exhortation
Vs. 14-17 point out a few practical expressions of accepting discipline. The
writer does not use “Let us” here, but he is giving exhortations that will help us to
live out our walk with the Lord. If we choose to live under the discipline of the
Lord, we will try to live at peace with all, rather than arguing, fighting, suing, and
so forth. We will pursue the holiness we have just been considering. How
important that is: without it we will not see God. We will not come short of the
grace of God. That is, God has provided grace, the means of dealing with whatever
comes to us in life. When difficulty comes we will not turn away from God, but
we will turn to him and take advantage of the grace he offers to enable us to
endure. Paul is a great example. In his second letter to the Corinthians he tells us
in chapter 12 about his thorn in the flesh. We are not told what the thorn was, but
there was something that was a great trial to Paul and he asked the Lord three
times to remove it. The Lord’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you\u2026.” Paul
had to go on enduring the trial, but he found God’s grace sufficient to endure it.
We are in the same position. Whatever trial we have to endure, God’s grace is
sufficient. Let us not fall short of his grace by turning away in trial, but rather let
us rely on his grace that is sufficient. By the way, I am satisfied that Paul’s thorn
was an eye problem (Gal. 4.13-15, 6.11).
If we accept the Lord’s discipline we will not be embittered by difficulty.
Many people turn against the Lord when hardship comes. They ask God why he
treats them in such a way. Their thought, whether they realize it or not, is that
God’s purpose in existing is to make them comfortable and happy, but that is not
the case. God made us for himself. It is not him for us. The wonder, of course, is
that he is a self-giver and that his purpose in our trials is not to mistreat us, but to
get us to a point where he can pour out his self-giving nature on us. Many, though,
become bitter toward God, even to the point of saying that they are atheists,
because of some trial. The truth is not that they do not believe God exists, but they
are angry at God. They have become bitter at him. Bitterness poisons, especially
the person harboring it. Instead of letting that happen, when trial comes turn to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
make us holy rather than bitter.
Immorality and godlessness are excluded from the life submitted to the
discipline of the Lord. Esau is cited as an example of a godless person. This is very
interesting to us, for Esau was a believer in God. How could a believer in God be
called godless? The reason is that though he believed God existed, he placed no
value on the things of God. Spiritual things were unimportant to him. When he
had to choose between his birthright and a bowl of stew, he chose the stew because
he was hungry. He should have died of hunger before giving up his birthright, his
right to a double portion of God and to carry on the spiritual heritage of God, but
he chose to stay alive for one more day rather than hold on to the things of God
that were rightfully his by birth. Notice that the word \u201cbirthright\u201d is translated,
\u201cthe things of his birthright.\u201d The word is plural. Esau sold the things of God of
his birthright, the double portion and the blessing, and whatever else God might
have blessed him with. Thus he is one of the saddest characters in the Bible. We
have that great story of him and his brother Jacob. Jacob was a genuine rascal, a
cheat, and Esau was basically a good man, working hard and earning his living
rather than trying, as his brother did, to con others. But at the end Jacob is
remembered as a man dispensing blessing and worshipping God, while Esau is
remembered for selling his birthright for a single meal. How tragic. See to it,
Hebrews says, that no one place so little value on the things of God, but rather
place such value on the things of God that any hardship will be endured in order
to be pleasing to God. When Esau realized what he had done he sought with bitter
tears for a way to reverse it, but it was too late. He was rejected by God and the
birthright went to Jacob, the one who submitted to the discipline of God
(eventually!) and had all that swindling flesh dealt with. Do not let it get too late.
Do not end up being rejected by God. Endure to the end.
My dear brother Stuart Lane says that falling short of the grace of God is
failing to receive it until it is withdrawn by God so that it is too late. Esau is the
example. He had the right to \u201cthe things of his birthright,\u201d but he failed of the
grace extended and afterwards \u201che was rejected, for he did not find a place for
repentance, even though he sought it with tears.\u201d In dealing with Esau\u2019s inability
to regain his birthright even though he sought it with tears, Lang writes, \u201cFirst,
Esau never after really changed his mind or was sorrowful for his willful sin in
this matter. Gen. 27.34, 36 shows him blaming Jacob, not reproaching himself. He
mourned his loss but not his sin.\u201d (252)
18For you have not come to that being able to be touched and having been
burned with fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19and to a sound
of a trumpet and a voice of speakings, of which those who heard asked that no<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And if even an animal should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned.” [Ex.
19.12-13] 21And so fearful was the thing appearing, Moses said, “I am terrified
and trembling.” [Dt. 9.19] 22But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of
the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal assembly,
23and to the church of the firstborn ones having been enrolled in the heavens,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous having been made
perfect, 24and to the Mediator of a new covenant, Jesus, and to blood of
sprinkling speaking better than Abel.
The twofold theme of Hebrews is the superiority of Christ and the need to
endure because of it, and the last verses of chapter 12 now restate those thoughts
a final time. Vs. 18-24 reiterate the superiority of Christ by contrasting Sinai and
Zion, two mountains.
Ex. 19 and 20 provide the background for this passage. In Ex. 19 the Lord
called Moses onto Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and the scene is
graphically described. Boundaries were set around the base of the mountain so
that no one, not even a beast, could touch it while God was manifested there, for
anyone who did would die. There were thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, a loud
trumpet sound, smoke, fire, and the quaking of the mountain. Then the Ten
Commandments were given. When the people saw and heard all that was going
on they were terrified and stood at a distance, telling Moses that he should hear
from God and tell them what to do without their hearing from God themselves,
for they were afraid of the presence of God. What a scene that must have been! But
the concept that is conveyed by the description is one of distance from God. Mt.
Sinai signifies God in the midst, but at a distance. The people cannot come into
God’s presence.
Sinai, of course, represents the law. The people could not come into the
presence of God at Sinai because no one is able to be good enough on the basis of
law to approach God. All have sinned. All have broken the law. No one is justified
on the basis of law.
Zion was one of the hills of Jerusalem, the ancient city of David, and it came
to have spiritual significance. When the prophets began to predict the judgment
of Israel and Judah by God through foreign powers, they also added that he would
restore the captivity of Zion. Zion came to symbolize the future blessings of the
Jewish people when they would not only be restored to their land, but would also
return to their God and Messiah. Those blessings are still future in our day.
A further significance of Zion emerges in the spiritual interpretation of the
Old Testament prophecies. Those prophecies of great blessing on the people of
God apply literally to the Jewish people and will be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the church now. All those blessings that the Jews will enjoy materially in the
Promised Land we enjoy now spiritually in Christ. Thus Zion also means the
church, and that is the sense in which Heb. 12 uses the term. Zion is the heavenly
Jerusalem (Gal. 4.26) and the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven as a
bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21.2).
Whereas the Jews of the Old Testament could not come into the presence of
God and the whole impression given by Sinai is one of distance from God, the
New Testament teaches that the veil of the temple has been torn in two from top
to bottom, that is, by God, and his people are now able to come into his presence,
and not just on earth, but in Heaven. Eph. 1.3 says that God has “blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,” and Eph. 2.6 says that God
“raised us up and seated us in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” What do these
statements mean? They mean that spiritually the church is already in Heaven in
Christ. We are in Christ and he is in Heaven, so we are as well. We do not perceive
it with our five senses because we are now limited by time and space and flesh
and we walk by faith, not by sight, but it is nonetheless true that we are in Heaven
in the very presence of God. We have entered the true Holy of Holies, not just a
copy, as we have already seen earlier in Hebrews.
That is how Hebrews reiterates the superiority of Christ. We are no longer
under a law that keeps us at a distance from God. We no longer come to Mt. Sinai.
We come to Mt. Zion, the church, which is in the Holy of Holies in Heaven in the
presence of God. Christ is superior in that he has done what the law could not do:
he brought us into God’s blessed presence.
Hebrews goes on to draw out the meaning of Zion. It is the city of the living
God, not the earthly city, but the new, heavenly Jerusalem, as we have already
noted. It is the place of myriads of angels in festal assembly. The correct reading
of this part of the passage is disputed. Most translations have it that we have come
“to myriads of angels, and to the festal assembly and church of the firstborn,” but
the Greek seems to be better translated, “and to myriads of angels in festal
assembly, and to the church of the firstborn ones enrolled in the heavens.” Perhaps
the idea is that the angels in Heaven are in the seen presence of God and know the
victory already won by the Lord Jesus as they see him seated on the throne in
Heaven, so they are in festal assembly. That is, they are celebrating! We are in the
fight. Those to whom Hebrews was written were in a strong trial. The angels see
the outcome, victory! We see the angels in Rev. 4-5 gathered around the throne of
God in Heaven in joyful worship.
We have come to the church of the firstborn ones enrolled in the heavens,
which I take to be Heaven. Note that I have translated \u201cfirstborn ones.\u201d The word
\u201cfirstborn\u201d is plural in Greek. We are not now experiencing the festal assembly by<\/p>\n\n\n\n
on. We do not celebrate while we are in battle. We fight. Yet we do celebrate. We
celebrate by faith because we know that even though we are fighting on the earth,
the victory has already been won, our names are enrolled in Heaven, and
spiritually we are with the festal assembly in Heaven.
We have already considered the concept of the firstborn in Scripture in
some detail, noting that the concept of the firstborn is more important as a spiritual
concept than as a physical one. The firstborn son had the right to a double portion
of the inheritance and to be head of the clan. He was entitled to the first and best
blessing of his father. The firstborn had the right to carry on what God was doing
spiritually among his people. Yet we find that many times it is not the firstborn
who inherits a double portion, rules the clan, and carries on the spiritual line. Jacob
was not the firstborn, but he bought Esau’s birthright and stole his blessing, yet
God still used him to carry on the spiritual line because he valued the things of
God and Esau did not. Jacob was the founding father of Israel, begetting the twelve
sons. Joseph was not the firstborn, but we saw what an overcomer he was in
chapter 11of Hebrews, and he inherited the double portion through his two sons,
Ephraim and Manasseh (Josh. 17.14-18), and it was Joseph who carried on the
spiritual work of God. David was not the firstborn, but the last-born, eighth, yet
he became the king, the ruler after God’s own heart, and carried on the spiritual
line. His son Solomon was not firstborn, but he succeeded David as king. And so
on.
What we learn is that it is not the physically firstborn who carry on the
spiritual work of God and inherit the double portion, but the one who overcomes,
as Joseph did. We can all be firstborn, first, if we have been born again, for then
the Firstborn, the Lord Jesus, lives in us and we in him, and then if we overcome,
that is, live in victory. There is a wonderful statement in a wonderful chapter, Is.
61, where God promises millennial blessing to Israel after all her suffering. V. 7:
“Instead of your shame you will have double, and instead of dishonor they will
rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they will possess double.
Everlasting joy will be unto them.” The Jews in the millennium will all be firstborn,
overcomers with God, and will enjoy with Joseph the double portion. And what
applies to the Jews materially applies to the church spiritually. A similar thought
occurs in Ps. 87. We should quote the entire psalm:
1His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2
I AM loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3Glorious things are spoken of you, city of God. [Selah]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among those who know me.
Look, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia.
\u201cThis one was born there.\u201d
5Yes, of Zion it will be said, \u201cThis one and that one were born in her,\u201d
And the Most High himself will establish her.
6
I AM will count, when he writes up the peoples,
\u201cThis one was born there.\u201d [Selah]
7Those who sing as well as those who dance will say,
\u201cAll my springs are in you.\u201d
I was born physically in Hendersonville, North Carolina, but when the Lord
counts up his people, when he comes to my name he will say that I was born in
Zion. I have been born again, in Zion. The Jerusalem above is my mother (Gal.
4.26), the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21.2). And yours, if you are his. Praise the Lord!
Hebrews says that the fact that we have come to Mt. Zion means that we
have come to God the Judge and to the spirits of just men made perfect. We have
come into the very presence of God, as we have been emphasizing, and we see that
God, who judges all, has judged the just to be just and has perfected them in his
presence. And we have come to the Lord Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant,
that covenant that enables us to please God because it puts his requirements within
us and that puts us in his presence. The Lord Jesus is also the one whose blood
was sprinkled. The sprinkling of the blood is vital. Blood shed is available, but it
is of no benefit unless it is applied to the sinner. Blood sprinkled is blood applied,
and thus it is effective to take away the sins of the one who is sprinkled. The blood
of the Lord Jesus speaks better than Abel (the Greek literally says, rather than \u201cthat
of Abel\u201d), that Old Testament worshipper of God who gained approval and a place
in Heb. 11. Some take this to mean that after Abel\u2019s murder his blood cried out
from the ground, “Revenge,” whereas the blood of the Lord Jesus cries out,
“Mercy.” As he hung on the cross dying he did not cry out to God to avenge him
on his murderers. He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what
they are doing.” What marvelous blessing we have come to. Mt. Sinai says, “An
eye for an eye.” Mt. Zion says, “Mercy.” How superior indeed is our Lord.
But the Greek does not say that the blood cries out. It says that Abel speaks,
as in Heb. 11.4: \u201che being dead still speaks\u201d: \u201cand to sprinkled blood that speaks
better than Abel.\u201d This would mean that Abel still speaks through faith, as 11.4
says; that is, that he demonstrated faith in God when he offered a blood sacrifice,
whereas Cain did not believe and obey God (faith), but offered the fruit of his own
labor to God (salvation by works). In the first interpretation, the blood of Abel cries
for revenge. In the second, it speaks of belief of God and obedience to him as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
shed in obedience to God, but it could not effect salvation because he was a sinful
man. The blood of the Lord Jesus speaks of the same salvation by shed blood, but
it is actually able to effect salvation because of the sinless obedience of the Lord,
the unblemished Lamb.
In contrasting the two scenes in this passage we see that everything at Sinai
was material, physical, perceivable by our five senses. We saw earlier that one of
the chief features of Hebrews is its emphasis that everything we are about as
Christians is spiritual and heavenly. We have not come to a physical mountain
“which can be touched and which burned with fire, and to darkness and gloom
and whirlwind, and to the sound of a trumpet and a voice of words\u2026. And so
fearful was what appeared, Moses said, ‘I am terrified and trembling.'” We have
come to
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal assembly, and to
the church of the firstborn enrolled in the heavens, and to God the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to the Mediator of
a new covenant, Jesus, and to sprinkled blood that speaks better than Abel.
Everything here is heavenly in origin. It is spiritual in nature. The old covenant
and all that went with it have passed away (Heb. 8.13). We are on wholly new
ground with the Lord, where nothing of the flesh, nothing of the natural, soulish
(Greek psuchikos, from psuche, soul) man has any place. The Lord Jesus said
that the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will
you worship the Father\u2026. But the hour is coming and now is when the true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father
seeks such to be those who worship him. God is spirit and those who
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Our relationship with God has nothing to do with a physical location on
earth. It is of the heart, of the spirit, even though we are on earth physically. We
are always within the veil, in the Holy of Holies, in the very presence of God.
Saphir has a very lovely passage about the contrast of Mt. Sinai and Mt.
Zion, one that touches on God\u2019s thoughts and desires as well as our blessing:
Mt. Sinai has passed away. It was only temporary. God touched it, but did
not abide there. There is another mount, even Zion. \u201cThe Lord hath chosen
Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here
will I dwell; for I have desired it.\u201d (Ps. 132.13-14) Upon God\u2019s holy hill of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
temporary and intermediate; mount Zion the Gospel, eternal and abiding;
mount Sinai is connected with God\u2019s dealings with man according to
responsibility; mount Zion with the eternal election of grace. The one is
touched by God as it were for a moment; the other chosen to be His
habitation. The one brings fear and terror; the other brings joy and peace,
because God delights in it. In the one, the very Mediator trembles; in the
other, God\u2019s own Son, crowned with glory and power, brings nigh His
people, who approach \u201cboldly\u201d in the peace and joy of Christ. (II, 847-848)
25See that you not refuse the one speaking, for if those did not escape having
refused the one warning them on earth, much more we, the ones being turned
away from the one who warns from Heaven, 26whose voice shook the earth then,
but now he has promised saying, “Yet once I will shake not only the earth, but
also the sky.” [Hag. 2.6] 27Now the “yet once more” makes clear the removal of
the things having been shaken, as of things made, that the things not being
shaken may remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LET US have gratitude, through which LET US worship God pleasingly with
caution in the things of God and awe, 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
Warning and Exhortation
Because the Lord is superior the author of Hebrews makes one final appeal
to his readers to go on with the Lord and to endure to the end. He does so in vs.
25-29 by using the word “warning,” giving a strong warning and describing a
shaking that is going to occur. SEE TO IT, he first tells us, that you do not refuse
him who is speaking to us. This reminds us of Heb. 1.1-2 where we are told that
God not only spoke in the Old Testament, but has also spoken in his Son. He spoke
from earth through angels and prophets to his Old Testament people. He speaks
to us from Heaven through his Son, who is God in the flesh come from Heaven to
earth. If the Old Testament people were judged for ignoring an earthly warning,
how much more will we be judged if we ignore a heavenly warning?
Saphir puts it well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dispensation. See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. God came down<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to heaven, and speaks now to us from mount Zion. (v. 25) The character of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
descended God gave the law on Sinai. The heaven-ascended Son declares<\/p>\n\n\n\n
heaven for vengeance; the blood of the Lord Jesus speaks peace from
heaven to earth. How can we escape if we neglect so great salvation? (II,
856)
Lang puts it this way:
To turn from that blood and this Speaker (10.29), by reverting to the law,
with its mediator, Moses, and its but typical blood, is to reject the bright
reality and return to the shadow. He who thus rejects the heavenly shall
pay a severer penalty than he who rejected the earthly. (265)
Ex. 19.18 tells us that the earth shook when God spoke in those days, as we
have just seen in our last section, and Hag. 2.6 tells us that there will be another
shaking, one designed to cause what is not of God to crumble so that what is of
God may stand alone. This shaking will not be primarily physical, though it may
include some of that, but will shake the very foundations of society, touching
economics and finance, the institutions of government, and the values of society
that have deteriorated so much in recent decades. People’s faith in government
and other institutions of society will be shaken as their retirement savings are
destroyed by inflation, law and order become increasingly rare, and frightened
people, no, terrified people, riot in the streets. That is why it is so important to
endure in faithfulness to Christ. He is of God and will stand the shaking. Those
who are true to him will stand with him. Those who fall away because of trial have
already failed to endure the shaking. The only thing that cannot be shaken is not a
thing at all, but a Person. Everything that is not of Christ will crumble in the
shaking. Only what is of him will endure it.
This shaking takes place all through life in the trials that we experience and
in the events of history. God always tests people to reveal what is in them, to
strengthen in them what is of him, and to crumble what is not of him. That shaking
will culminate in what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation, that greatest of all
shakings when the world itself will come to the brink of destruction. At the end of
that period Christ will return, and those who have endured the shaking will stand
with him. And those who have died in the Lord before the time of the Great
Tribulation will have had their own shakings to endure. Thus it is vital that we
endure. We are in the process of receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
because the Lord Jesus is its foundation and King, but we will lose it if we are
shaken, or at least will lose our inheritance in it. Recall that this is the very thing
Hebrews is about, as we saw in 2.5: “the inhabited earth to come, concerning which
we speak.” Hebrews is about the coming millennial kingdom and the exhortation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
endure to the end by the grace of God, and to be prepared for it by our reigning
over the circumstances of our lives, all the trials that we are called on to endure.
Thus, even in the midst of the shaking we should show gratitude to God, for he is
granting us the blessing of shaking out of us what cannot endure and building up
what will last eternally. In this gratitude we offer God acceptable worship.
This exhortation to endure closes with the statement that our God is a
consuming fire. The expression comes from Dt. 4.24 where Moses is telling the
people of the blessings of obedience and warning them of the judgments of
disobedience. It is a different picture for the same concept as that presented by the
idea of shaking. A fire will burn what is not of God and will purify what is. That
is the kind of God we have. He will put us through trials of fire, but it is he himself
working to make us holy, to make us like himself, to bring us into all that he has
in mind for us in the reign of Christ on earth and in eternity. Thus, Hebrews
exhorts, LET US, and warns us, out of gratitude to worship God.
Have you thought about what worship means? Have you searched the
Scriptures to see what they say about worship? The first place in the Bible where
the word “worship” is used is Gen. 22.5, the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac
to God. When he came to the place where he was to offer Isaac, he said to his men
to wait there while he and Isaac went to worship. Went to worship – and what was
he doing? Sacrificing his only, his beloved, son. Do you see that genuine worship
involves sacrifice? David said that he would not offer burnt offerings to God that
cost him nothing (2 Sam. 24.24). Abraham was offering to God by death the most
precious possession he had, and he saw that as worship. This thought takes us
straight to Rom. 12.1: “I urge you therefore, brothers, through the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your
logical worship.” That is the whole burnt offering of Lev. 1.3 and following. The
whole animal was burnt before God, and it was a sweet smell to him, “pleasing to
God.” If you are to worship God genuinely, you must give your whole self to God
completely, including your most precious possessions, which are probably not
things, but people. Hebrews exhorts us to worship God, to sacrifice all to him to
do with as he sees fit.
Our Lord is superior to all things. When the skies and the earth pass away
he will stand and will receive everything from God. Therefore it is vital that we go
on with him, seeking an ever-deepening relationship with him, and that we
endure to the end faithful to him, that we may stand with him eternally and share
in his inheritance from God the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exhortations
1Let brotherly love continue.
The first twelve chapters of Hebrews are primarily doctrinal, teaching the
truths on which the exhortation to endure is based. The major truth set forth is the
superiority of Christ in every way, and the main point of Hebrews is that because
he is superior and will prevail in the end, his followers should be faithful to him
no matter what and not turn away from him. Now in chapter 13 Hebrews deals
with the practical expression of faithfulness to Christ. What are some of the things
one does as an outward expression of his commitment to the Lord Jesus?
The first point that Hebrews makes is in v. 1: “Let brotherly love continue.”
It is notable that love gets the first mention, for it is of greatest importance. When
trials and temptations occur and there is the temptation to separate, it is love that
holds us together. The Lord never intended for a Christian to be a loner. We saw
the exhortation in 10.25 not to forsake assembling together. The church is a body
and a part of the body cannot survive apart from the body. If any part of the body
is removed from the body it will die. It is God’s love that keeps Christians together
and that is why Hebrews emphasizes it in this concluding chapter.
Just for your information, the Greek word for “brotherly love” is philadelphia.
The phil part comes from the word philia. You probably know that the word agape
(a-GAHP-ay) is the primary word used for God’s love, and it is also used for
Christians’ love of God and of one another. We might expect that word here in
Heb. 13.1, but the writer uses philia, friendship, and not just friendship, but the
love between friends. We have all probably had friends that were more casual and
that we would not say we loved. We have also probably had a friend, or a few
friends, that we had a deep relationship with and that we would say we loved. I
remember one genuine friend I had years ago. I cannot say why, but we had a deep
relationship and I would say that I loved him, probably more than any other male
friend I have ever had. I still think of our relationship and I miss it. That is what
Hebrews is referring to here.
And yet, it is more than that in Hebrews because it is not just friendship,
but friendship in Christ. It is brotherly (or sisterly) friendship, the adelphia part of
the word meaning \u201cbrother\u201d or \u201csister.\u201d We are brothers or sisters in Christ. Thus
the element of God’s love, which is wholly self-giving and unconditional, is
present in it. Friends who do not know the Lord are still friends and may genuinely
love each other, but there is an added dimension when that friendship is in Christ.
Friendship among Christians has an element of agape in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
all would know they were his by their love for one another (the Greek in these
verses, Jn. 13.34-35, is agape). Tertullian was an early Christian leader and writer
(second and third centuries). He is probably best known to the general Christian
public for writing about what non-Christians of his day said about
Christians: “‘Look,'” they say, “‘how they love one another.'”
As we consider the background of Hebrews, the difficulties that its readers
were facing, we can see the reason for and the value of the exhortation to let
brotherly love continue. These people needed each other in more ways than one,
and the exhortation holds for us today, for we also need each other. Many
Christians today are facing persecution and many are not, but we all face the usual
challenges of life, finances, health, the condition of loved ones, the death of loved
ones, and so forth. We all have crises in life when we need the love of a brother or
sister in the Lord. In those times friendship in Christ takes on more meaning and
shows the love of God to us.
2Do not neglect hospitality, for because of this some were unaware having
entertained angels.
The next practical expression of faithfulness to Christ is hospitality. Heb.
13.2 says that we are to be hospitable to strangers and adds the word that some,
by doing so, have entertained angels without knowing it. What a thrill it would be
to get to Heaven and learn that some stranger entertained was really an angel sent
to test the one who took him in!
It is of interest that the word for “hospitality” is philoxenia (friendship to
strangers), built on the same word, philia, as philadelphia, brotherly love, in v. 1.
This instruction calls to mind Mk. 10.29-30. After the encounter with the
rich young ruler Peter declared to the Lord Jesus that the twelve had left all things
and followed him. The Lord replied,
Amen I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the
gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, with
persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.
The point is that Christians are all one family and if one has a need, there are many
who are able to provide for that need. If one has lost his home for the Lord’s sake,
there are many who can take him in and provide a place to live. It is important
that we as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
them as being at his disposal. We own nothing, but are only granted a stewardship
by the Lord for a time. How we exercise that stewardship is subject to the
judgment of God, and a part of the proper use of our possessions is hospitality.
But the verse we are considering does not say to be hospitable to fellow
Christians, but to strangers. I suppose a stranger could be a Christian or not. I
confess that the prospect of bringing home a stranger in our day is full of questions.
I have a family to protect. What if I bring home a stranger who then harms them
in the night? There are Christian missions that take in at least some of the needy.
We are heavily taxed by our governments to provide for the needy. What is one to
do? I think it is a fundamental principle of Christianity that we do not live by rules.
Cases such as this should be taken to the Lord for his direction. I have it as a
general rule that I will not give cash to someone who begs. I have bought food for
the needy and done other things to help, but I do not give cash. However, there
was one time when I felt that I should give someone cash and did so. This was a
woman, and I also gave her a ride, which I also do not do unless my wife is with
me. Again, I felt that I should do so. Let us say that we are to be hospitable, but to
test each situation before the Lord.
3Remember the prisoners as having been imprisoned with them, and those being
ill-treated as yourselves also being in the body.
Heb. 10.34 mentions prisoners and is apparently a reference to those in
prison for the Lord, that is, those imprisoned for confessing their commitment to
Christ. Now 13.3 says to remember the prisoners and those badly treated. This is
yet another practical way to express the Christian walk. We in the United States
do not live in a place where people are imprisoned for being Christians, though
that may come here sooner than we think, and there are places in the world where
there are prisoners for the Lord. We need to be praying for Christians in other
lands where there is persecution, and we should be sensitive to opportunities to
meet their physical needs. Most of us cannot go to them, and we would probably
not be allowed by their governments to visit them if we could go, but there are
groups that work to minister to such people, and the Lord’s people in free lands
should be seeking the Lord’s direction about helping financially with such work.
This is not a legalistic matter in which we can say that one ought to give, but it is
a matter in which we can say that we ought to learn what is going on and seek the
Lord’s leading.
In addition, realizing the volatility of our world, we need to be praying that
the Lord would prepare us and give us grace should such persecution ever arise
in our land. It is not beyond possibility that some of could be imprisoned for the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
toward those who are persecuted for the Lord.
Further, there are many formal and informal prison ministries in the United
States, and in other lands, in which servants of the Lord visit prisoners to share the
Lord with them, to pray with or teach the Bible, and to see if they can be of any
help. Remember that many prisoners represent family members who may be
struggling without the incarcerated member at home. The prison population in
this country is very large and the need is great. Be sensitive to the Lord about any
calling he may have for you to minister among prisoners and their families. Who
can say how many formerly hopeless men and women have come to the Lord
because someone was willing to take the Lord Jesus into the prison?
4Let marriage be honored in all and the bed undefiled, for immoral persons and
adulterers God will judge.
The next practical matter dealt with is faithfulness and holiness in marriage,
in v. 4. The command is that marriage be held in honor and that the marriage bed
be undefiled. The world in which the New Testament was written was one of great
immorality, and indeed many of the religions of that day had sexual activities with
prostitutes associated with their worship. Man has always been dependent on the
fertility of the soil for his living, so many religions naturally developed rites
designed to perpetuate fertility. Sexual abuse easily became a part of these rites as
sexual acts were done to influence the gods to grant fertility. In addition, those
religions did nothing to promote morality among their devotees, and the New
Testament is full of references to the low moral state of paganism from which
many early Christians came (see 1 Cor. 6.9-11).
We live in a day of like immorality. There have always been immoral
people, but in our day there is no longer any sense of shame associated with it.
Moral requirements are mocked and flouted and people proudly live in open
immorality. Our entertainment and print media are moral cesspools. Marriage is
treated as a convenience, not a lifetime commitment, or as an inconvenience to be
avoided. We are now seeing our government upholding all sorts of immorality as
civil rights or rights of free speech.
To this mentality, ancient and modern, Hebrews says that marriage is
something holy from God and is to be treated as such. There is a reason for this. In
Eph. 5.22-33 Paul teaches that marriage is intended by God for something beyond
the earthly relationship. It is supposed to be a picture of Christ and the church.
The New Testament teaches that the church is being prepared by God to be the
bride of Christ and to reign with him eternally. The love of a man for his wife and
the submission of a wife to her husband are designed by God to show the world<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nature and plans of God. This is why adultery and immorality are such serious
matters. Beyond the matters of disease and unwanted children there is the spiritual
mockery of the eternal purpose of God. God intends for human marriage to be a
picture of his plans, and he will judge those who hold it up to contempt. This is a
matter of great seriousness. We are to treat marriage as something holy, for it is
holy, that is, set apart for God and being like God.
5Let your way be without love of money, being content with the things being
present, for he himself has said, “I would not leave you or forsake you,\u201d [Dt.
31.6] 6so that being of good courage we say, \u201cThe Lord is my Helper. I will not
be made afraid. What will man do to me?\u201d [Ps. 118.6]
Heb. 13.5-6 teach us to be free from the love of money. This is perhaps the
most universal temptation of all. People have always thought that riches were the
answer to life. There has always been a lust for wealth. We see this magnified in
our day with the insane rush after lottery tickets and other means of instant riches,
such as get-rich-quick schemes and lawsuits. To this situation Hebrews says to be
content with what we have and not get into this mad rush for money.
Scripture nowhere teaches that money and wealth are evil in themselves. It
is the love of money that causes the problem. Money, or some form of wealth, is
necessary for physical life. We must have food, clothing, and shelter, and
prosperity is the will of God for people. There will be no poverty in the kingdom
or in Heaven. Poverty is a result of the fall of man and the resultant curse on the
earth, injustice of the strong toward the weak, and indolence on the part of some.
It is not God’s idea. The difficulty is that people are infected with the notion that
money buys happiness and that money will satisfy them, and thus they will do
anything to get it, even to the point of committing murder.
The problem with this idea for the Christian is that it shows a lack of trust
in God. It is saying that God cannot be trusted to provide for our needs. We want
the Lord to save us and we want to go to Heaven, but we need money to make us
happy and secure. The Christian approach is that we will work, not to try to get
rich for money’s sake, but to provide for our needs and to have something with
which to support the Lord’s work. It is God’s will that we be productive people,
and Paul commanded that those who would not work should not be allowed to
eat. God will give some the ability to become wealthy, but he does it not so that
they can hoard money for themselves, but so that they will be able to contribute to
what God is doing in the world. To be caught up in the mad lust for wealth is to
turn away from the Lord’s way. Our trust is to be in the Lord, not in money. Just<\/p>\n\n\n\n
committed suicide.
It is of interest that Greek often uses multiple negatives whereas in English
a double negative is incorrect grammar. V. 5 actually says in Greek, \u201cI would not
not leave you nor not not forsake you\u201d! I think that emphasizes the point!
Westcott points out that the idea of the Greek word for \u201cleave\u201d is \u201cthat of
loosing hold so as to withdraw the support rendered by the sustaining grasp.\u201d
And that of \u201cforsake,\u201d \u201cof deserting or leaving alone in the field of contest, or in a
position of suffering.\u201d
7Remember those leading you who spoke to you the word of God, of whose
conduct observing the outcome, imitate the faith.
The imitation of faithful Christian leaders is the next item of practical
consideration to be brought up. People have different gifts in the church and some
have been gifted with leadership. They have an understanding of the Lord’s word
and of his ways and an ability to lead the lost to the Lord and the lead Christians
to go on with him. Those who have been faithful in this calling deserve to be
imitated. It is not that we look to men. There is too much of that. We look to God
alone, for flesh will always fail. But where men off faith conduct themselves rightly
they should be imitated. Paul says in Phil. 3.17 that we should follow his example.
That might seem boastful, and indeed it could be, but Paul was not setting himself
up in place of the Lord. He had walked with God, he had suffered for him, and he
had served him faithfully. He was the first to admit that he was the chief of sinners
and the least of the apostles. He did not ask people to imitate him in his failures,
but in his faithfulness to the Lord. And the power to imitate a faithful one comes
from God. One might pray, “Lord, I want to be faithful to you as Paul was. Please
give the grace and power to do so.” It is not that I want to imitate Paul in my power,
but that I want to follow his example of faithfulness, service, and so forth, but I
know it is the Lord who enables.
Heb. 13.7 says that we are to imitate the faith of such leaders as we consider
the outcome of their conduct. It is their faith that we are to imitate, and faith is
directed toward God. It is not that these are great men, but that they have a great
God. We are to put our faith in the same God. And we are to do so as we consider
the outcome of their conduct. They have lived productive lives that have blessed
others and resulted in personal contentment and satisfaction with the Lord. Such
an outcome is to be desired and it is their faith in God that produced it. Thus we
should imitate their faith, believing what God says and acting on it. Remember
what a great place faith has in this epistle to the Hebrews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same, and into the ages.
The next verse, v.8, is one of those that have been lifted out of context and
used to defend every doctrine and practice desired by the group in question. That
may be acceptable, for if something was biblical in the first century it still is. But
such an approach misses the real point of this verse: “Jesus Christ, yesterday and
today the same, and into the ages.” Hebrews has just said that those who were
faithful to God had a desirable outcome to their lives. They were rewarded for
walking with the Lord. Now Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the
same, and into the ages.” That is, the Lord who rewarded those before us for
faithfulness to him has not changed. If we walk with him, he will reward us as
well.
This is one of the great doctrines of the Christian faith. When theology is
studied systematically it is divided into the various areas of doctrine. One of those
areas is the doctrine of God. Under the study of the doctrine of God, his attributes
are considered, his personal characteristics. One of his attributes is what is called
immutability. That is simply a theological way of saying that God is unchanging.
He can be utterly relied on. People change. A man may promise something today
and change his mind tomorrow. People cannot be relied on, not fully. But God
never changes. What he says today can be relied on today and forever. What a
comfort that is to the Christian who lives on the shifting sands of time. Whatever
may happen in this world and time, God is rock solid. He will never change and
leave us hanging. That is the meaning of Heb. 13.8.The Lord Jesus never changes.
The Lord Jesus who rewarded others who walked with him in faith will reward
all who walk with him in faith. We can count on him, now and eternally.
9Don\u2019t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good for the
heart to be sustained by grace, not by foods, by which those so walking were
not benefited.
V. 9 tells us not to get carried away by strange doctrines, but to hold to the
truth as revealed by the Lord Jesus and the apostles. We are to be strengthened by
grace, not by foods. As in our day, so in the ancient one, people were always
coming up with legalistic systems designed to enable people to please God by their
own works. The eating of or abstinence from certain foods was supposed to
establish one’s relationship with God. Paul mentions such an approach in two
passages, both times negatively. In 1 Tim. 4.1-5 he says that such teaching is a
doctrine of demons and says that all foods are given by God and should be
received with thanksgiving. In Col. 2.16-17 he says that we have Christ, the reality,
so we no longer need those legal requirements that were designed by God to bring<\/p>\n\n\n\n
them. Imagine someone who was married and lived in the same house as his wife,
but who never communicated with her, but always carried her picture with him
and looked at it lovingly and spoke to it, and so forth. We would think he had
something very wrong with him. Why spend all your time with a picture when
you have the person? Why spend all your time with symbols of Christ when you
have Christ? As Sir Robert Anderson puts it,
For Christ was the fulfillment of [Judaism]; and by the fact of His fulfilling
it he abrogated it. In whole and in every part of it, that religion pointed to
Him. Its mission was to prepare men for His advent, and to lead them to
Him when He came. And now that He had come, any turning back to the
religion was in effect a turning away from Christ\u2026. [T]he morning of
shadows was past, for the light that cast them was now in the zenith of an
eternal noon. (38-39)
Instead of being caught up in such outward forms as these we need to be
concerned with having the grace of God in our hearts. God’s grace is his provision
for our needs. It is out of the heart that the issues of life flow (Prov. 4.22, 23.7, Mk.
7.21-23). It is the kind of heart we have that determines the kind of life we live, and
thus our concern should not be with outward requirements, but with inward
grace. If God is able to provide grace to our hearts we will do what is right
outwardly. It will flow just as naturally as fresh water flows from a fresh spring,
or salt water from a salt source.
A concern with foods is of no benefit, other than as regards our need to take
care of our bodily health. Gluttony is still a sin. A concern with grace is of great
benefit. This is not to say that what we eat does not matter. In our day of junk food,
a Christian should give thought to what he eats, for our bodies are temples of the
Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6.19) and should be cared for, but the point is that we are not
eating or abstaining from certain foods in order to be saved or be right with God
in a legalistic way, but that we try to eat healthfully because we are right with God
and want to care for his temple. The concern of our lives is not the body, which
will pass away anyway, but the heart, which is the real issue and which will go on
eternally. Eat healthfully, but do not be obsessed with doctrines of foods. Look to
the heart, for out of it are the issues of life. Can you imagine Paul writing, “Look
to the stomach, for out of it are the issues of life”?
And think about it. What is Hebrews about? What is the Bible about? They
are about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the explanation of all of it. At the last of these
days God has spoken in foods? Heavens no! He has spoken in his Son! The
Christian faith is Christ. That is all. Keep him at the center and all these issues will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
practice or religious rite or food or anything else. “For I have decided not to know
anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2.2)
10We have an altar from which those serving the tent have no authority to eat.
Into the midst of these practical exhortations Hebrews inserts one final
doctrinal thought, and it again expresses the superiority of Christ: “We have an
altar from which those who serve the tent have no authority to eat.” This statement
takes us again to the Jewish background of Hebrews. It was probably written to
Jewish Christians who possibly had continued to observe Judaism along with
Christianity, for originally Christianity was considered a part of Judaism.
Christians considered the Lord Jesus the Jewish Messiah and the fulfillment of
Judaism. The first Christians were all Jews who considered themselves to be Jews
who had found the Messiah. The book of Acts records the first worship of
Christians as being in the Jewish temple.
Thus these first, Jewish, Christians, had the outward, physical
accompaniments of their faith: the temple, its altar and sacrifices, its lampstand,
table of bread, and golden altar of incense. Of course, the latter items were in the
Holy Place where none but the priests were allowed to go, so the temple and altar
were the symbols of Judaism visible to all the people. Christianity is spiritual and
did not have these outward symbols. Thus when Jewish Christians began to be
faced with the delay of Christ’s return, persecution, and the widening division
between Judaism and Christianity, and thus with the question of whether to
remain faithful to Christ or to turn away from him and back to Judaism, they might
naturally think of the altar and say that they had an altar, whereas Christianity
had none. To this Hebrews replies that Christians not only have an altar, they have
a better altar than Judaism. On the altar of Judaism sacrifices are made day after
day, year after year, and they never take away sins. Christians have an altar that
was used only once and that took away all sins forever with that one use. That
altar was the cross, but it was not preserved as a Christian shrine or something of
that sort. Its meaning has been taken up into the Lord Jesus. He is everything to
the Christian faith. The Jewish priests fed on the meat of the Jewish altar.
Christians feed on Christ. He is the Bread of spiritual life. Only those who have
come to faith in Christ have authority to eat at this altar, to feed on Christ. The
cross is also superior to the Jewish altar in that that altar was destroyed almost two
thousand years ago, whereas the cross is eternal. Those who would still serve at
the outward altar of Judaism have no authority to feed on Christ, for they are still
in the legal tradition that cannot take away sins. Yes, we do indeed have an altar,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
superiority of the Lord Jesus is once again emphasized.
11For the bodies of these animals whose blood is brought into the Holy of Holies
by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. 12Jesus also therefore,
that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the
gate. 13Therefore we should go out to him outside the camp bearing his reproach,
14for we do not have here a city that remains, but we are seeking the one coming.
Hebrews goes on in vs. 11-14 to point out that the bodies of the animals
sacrificed at that Jewish altar were burned outside the camp. There is a meaning
to this act. When the animal was offered for sin, the worshipper placed his hand
on the head of the victim, signifying the laying of his sins on the animal. Then the
animal was slaughtered, but only certain token portions were burned on the altar.
The rest was taken outside the camp, symbolizing the taking away of sin from
God’s people and dwelling place. The thought is that the camp or city of God’s
people is supposed to be a holy place from which sin is removed.
The problem is that the camp itself became such a sinful place that by the
time Christ came, he fulfilled this Old Testament practice in two ways. He also
suffered outside the city gates of Jerusalem, fulfilling the Old Testament practice
of taking the sin outside the camp, but he also fulfilled the picture ironically. By
the time he came, Judaism had become such a cold, hard, formalized religion that
it had shut God out and did not even recognize him when he came in the flesh.
Indeed, it killed him. And thus the picture of going outside the camp becomes one
of leaving organized religion that has all the practices, but none of the presence of
God.
It is only human nature to take the living things of God and make of them
a religious system that eventually squeezes God out. That is what happened with
Judaism. There is no question that Judaism began with mighty, living works of
God, but by the first century A.D. that same Judaism had become such a system of
man’s religion that it cast the Lord Jesus outside the city and killed him.
He is still outside the camp. He will not dwell in the camp of any man’s
religion, whether it be Judaism or Christendom. What happened to Judaism is just
as true of much of Christendom. What began as a living work of God in Christ has
in our day become a religious system that would cast Christ out again if he came
incognito again and did and taught the same things he did among first century
Jews. He is not dwelling in man’s religious camps. He is outside, bearing reproach
among groups of despised Christians who do not mind shame before men if only
they can be where Christ is and be a part of his fresh, living work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ out, but to leave that camp and come outside to him, even though it means
shame in the world, and the letter says the same thing to us today. Do not stay in
the camp of man’s religion, even though it goes by the name of Christ. Come out
to him. This city of Judaism, this city of Christendom, is not a lasting city. It is the
city of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly Zion, that will stand eternally.
Those who stay with the visible altar will lose all. Those who go outside the city to
Christ will inherit an eternal city.
15Through him we should offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that
is, the fruit of lips confessing his name. 16And don\u2019t neglect doing good and
sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
With these thoughts completed, Hebrews returns to practical expressions
of faith in Christ. V. 15 speaks of the sacrifice of praise. Praise may not seem
practical, but it is. Our God is worthy of praise and it is only right for us to worship
him alone and together. Praise produces practical results in our lives. We cannot
live in praise to God and live in depression or under the weight of circumstances
at the same time. (There probably is depression brought on by chemical or other
bodily causes. This is another matter, but I confess that I am uncomfortable with
submitting a person to the world’s psychological establishment.) When we give to
God what he deserves he responds with blessing in our lives. It is not a selfish
matter of saying I want so and so, so I will praise God and he will give it to me.
That is not praise. It is manipulation and God cannot and will not be manipulated.
But real praise offered to God from the heart is richly rewarded by him. And keep
in mind that the greatest blessings are not material, but the blessings of knowing
the Lord, going deeper with him, knowing his presence. He does not promise us
material blessings beyond our needs, but he has already “blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.” (Eph. 1.3) Saphir writes, \u201cThe heart
that praises God is like the Temple filled with God\u2019s glory.\u201d (II, 875)
It is easy to praise God when things are going well and we feel well, but
Hebrews speaks of the sacrifice of praise. We saw earlier that real worship involves
sacrifice. The sacrifice of praise comes in difficulty, when we do not feel like
worshipping God. When we are under trial and life is difficult and we feel
anything but well, praise that is offered by faith, simply because God is worthy of
it, is praise that is a sacrifice to God, a sacrifice that is sweet-smelling to him. This
is one of the ways we give practical expression to our faith. We praise God because
he is worthy, whether we feel like it or not.
Another sacrifice that Hebrews says is pleasing to God is doing good and
sharing. This is so obvious it hardly needs comment. It is the very essence of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
during his earthly ministry he went about doing good. He gave his all for us, even
while we were still sinners. We are to be like him. It is pleasing to God when we,
as the Lord Jesus did, do good for others and share with them, and it is certainly a
practical expression.
17Obey those leading you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over
your souls as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy and
not groaning, for this would not be beneficial for you.
Submission to leaders is another. We live in a day of the flouting of
authority. There is no such thing as right and wrong. If it feels good, do it. Such is
not the thought of God. His intention is that people live under proper authority
with respect for it. It is so in the church. God has not put rulers into the church
who are to lord it over others, but he called certain men to spiritual maturity and
to responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the church. They are to keep things on
track with what God is doing, and to help those who have difficulty. Far from
being tyrants who use the church for their own benefit, they have a sobering
responsibility for which they will have to give account to God. It is a practical
matter of Christian responsibility to submit to this authority that God has set in
the church. The author says to obey and be submissive. It is possible to obey
without being submissive, like the little boy made to stand in the corner who say,
\u201cI am standing in the corner outside, but inside I am not!\u201d We as Christians can
obey God outwardly and still not be submissive to his will in our hearts. The heart
is the heart of the matter. We need to be submissive in heart as well as obedient
outwardly.
These men keep watch over souls. This is a very instructive statement, and
is further elucidated by 1 Pt. 2.11: “Beloved, I exhort you as strangers and
sojourners to abstain from fleshly desires which war against the soul.” We have
learned that the soul is the psychological aspect of a person. It is the intellect, the
emotions, the personality, the temperament, perhaps the will. The point is that
following the Lord’s way is good for psychological health. Many of the
psychological problems that people suffer from today are the direct result of a
refusal to submit to authority and a giving in to the desires of the flesh. Much
depression, guilt, insecurity, fear are the result of sin. In our day of no absolute
rights and wrongs, guilt is considered a psychological malady and is treated by
convincing the person that he could not possibly be guilty because there is no such
outward reality as guilt. It is only a misguided feeling. No wonder people suffer
psychologically! The truth is that people who feel guilty are guilty and what is
needed is confession and repentance before God. That would clear up the guilt<\/p>\n\n\n\n
who feel guilty because they have believed the lies of the devil. Their guilt is dealt
with by rebuking the lies and affirming the truth of God’s word.
This is not intended to be a simplistic approach to psychological problems.
Many people do suffer from problems that require medical treatment or
counseling, but a large amount of the trouble we see would clear up quickly if
people would submit to God’s authority and that of his church and would turn
away from fleshly desires. Sin produces damage in the soul, as Peter wrote, and
following God’s way produces health.
18Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, wanting to
conduct ourselves well in all things. 19And I urge you more abundantly to do
this that I may be restored to you more quickly.
The final practical matter that Hebrews deals with is prayer. The writer of
the book requests prayer, thereby showing its practical nature. We may be
tempted to think that prayer is not practical, but is only another religious exercise,
but that is not the case. Prayer is the most practical thing we can do as Christians,
for we dwell in a spiritual realm and our battle is not against flesh and blood, but
against spiritual evil (Eph. 6.12). It is in prayer that we stand against our spiritual
enemy and for the interests of God, who is Spirit. When things appear to be going
badly and there seems to be nothing we can do, we often say, “All I can do is pray,”
as though prayer would not help much, but at least we can do that. What a
misunderstanding of prayer! It is the most important thing we can do in any
situation, for it is prayer that brings us into contact with God and his plans for the
situation, and brings his power to bear against the enemy. Prayer should not be a
last resort when we can do nothing else. It should be the first thing we do, and we
should not do anything outwardly till we have prayed and sought the Lord’s
direction and power. Prayer may not appear to be practical in this visible world,
but how practical it is in the invisible, spiritual realm which is the real, eternal
dwelling place of all. May the Lord grant us the grace to learn to pray with power
according to the Scriptures.
20Now the God of peace, the one having brought up from the dead the great
Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
21equip you in every good thing to do his will, doing in us what is pleasing
before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory into the ages [of the ages].
Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
prayer underlines the theme of the book. It makes clear the fact that it is God who
will enable us to endure to the end with Christ, and it is to him that we should
look for grace to endure, not to our own strength, which will surely fail. He refers
to the Lord Jesus as the great Shepherd of the sheep. Would we not all be sheep
straying from our Lord and his ways if he were not the good Shepherd, the great
Shepherd? We have a covenant with him, and he will keep his side of the covenant
by caring for us in every way and guiding us in his ways if we will keep our side
by trust and obedience. He will equip us to do his will. To him be glory indeed,
eternally!
22Now I urge you, brothers, bear with the word of exhortation, for indeed I have
epistled you briefly.
V. 22 states plainly the nature of the epistle. It is an exhortation, and the
exhortation, as we have seen, is to endure with Christ till the end, not to turn away
from him in trial.
23You know our brother Timothy, having been released, with whom I will see
you if he come soon. 24Greet all those leading and all the saints. Those from Italy
greet you.
The references to Timothy and Italy in vs. 23 and 24 are of interest to those
who like to speculate about who wrote Hebrews and perhaps point to Paul, but
the letter as we have it is unsigned and we do not know who wrote it. Sufficient is
it to know that it is inspired by the Spirit of God, whoever the human instrument
may have been.
25Grace be with you all.
The last words of Hebrews are of great comfort. Grace is one of those great
words of the Bible. Though it is vastly more, it is the unmerited love of God toward
sinners. He loves us and he expressed that love to us even though we did not
deserve it, while we were still sinners. He still expresses that love to us even
though we still do not deserve it. We are wandering sheep, but he loves us still
and brings us back.
Then grace is God’s provision for our needs. In 2 Cor. 12.9, when Paul had
sought the Lord three times about removing the thorn in his flesh, God’s answer
was that his grace is sufficient. Indeed it is! Whatever trial the original readers of
Hebrews had to endure, God’s grace was sufficient to take them through in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the supply of God. His grace is still sufficient.
This word at the end of Hebrews is a great comfort to us because the writer
has laid a heavy exhortation on us to endure to the end no matter how hard. If it
were up to us, we would never make it. We would all fail in an instant, like the
seed on rocky ground in the parable of the Sower. At the first hint of trouble the
plant withers. But even though we are so strongly exhorted to endure, Hebrews
makes it clear that if we trust in God and obey him by our surrender to him to
endure, his grace will take us through. It is one of those paradoxes of the Bible that
we are exhorted to do, but at the same time it tells us that we cannot do! But if we
yield to God to do his will, knowing that we have no hope of succeeding in
ourselves, but trusting in him, he will take us through in victory. His grace is still
sufficient.
In 2 Tim. 4.18 Paul writes, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work
and will save me into his heavenly kingdom\u2026.” Peter writes in 2 Pt. 1.11, “For thus
will entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be
richly supplied to you.” We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, the
inhabited earth to come, concerning which we speak. See to it that you do not
refuse him who speaks (12.25), for our God is a consuming fire (12.29), but his
grace is sufficient. See to it that you do not fall short of the grace of God (12.15),
for that grace is sufficient.
And that grace is for all. No one is left out. God loves you. God is sufficient
for your needs. No matter what you may be going through right now or what may
come in the future, stay true to our superior Christ. Endure to the end. He will
supply the grace to do so if only you look to him, the Apostle and High Priest of
our confession, the Founder and Perfecter of faith. May his grace indeed be with
you. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alford, Henry, Alford’s Greek New Testament, Vol. IV. Academic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austin-Sparks, T., But Ye Are Come to Mount Zion.
Companions of Christ and the Heavenly Calling.
Filled Unto All the Fulness of God<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kingdom that Cannot be Shaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in-print order form is available at<\/p>\n\n\n\n
order form and mail it in. The books are available free. However, when I order I
always include a check for enough to cover what I order. I suggest you do the same
unless you really cannot afford them. This is a ministry that deserves your support.
Some of his writings not in print can be read at
http:\/\/www.austin-sparks.net\/english\/books\/books_alpha.html. Many of the
writings in print can also be read at this site. The site regularly adds more of
Sparks\u2019 writings, so check back for new additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bellett, J.G., Musings on the Epistle to the Hebrews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bernard, Thomas, The Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruce, F.F., Commentary of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Published by Eerdmans
Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI. Somewhat academic, but based on the English
text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bullinger, E.W., Great Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews Eleven. Published by Kregel
Publications, Grand Rapids, MI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cremer, Hermann, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek. Published by
T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, Scotland. Academic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dods, Marcus, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W.
Robertson Nicoll, Vol. IV. Academic. Published by Hendrickson Publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaung, Stephen, Seeing Christ in\u2026, Vol. V. The taped version is available at
http:\/\/www.christiantestimonyministry.com\/tape.php?id=989<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lambert, Lance, Jacob Have I Loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
authors\/g-h-lang\/ (Lang\u2019s book on Hebrews is one of the most helpful of all and Irecommend it highly. If you don\u2019t read anything else, read Lang.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn, Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure. Published by
Pickering & Inglis, London and Glasgow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morgan, G. Campbell, God\u2019s Last Word to Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicoll, William Robertson, ed., The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary. Online:
http:\/\/www.studylight.org\/commentaries\/teb\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saphir, Adolph, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Volumes I and II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trench, Richard Chenevix, Synonyms of the New Testament. This work has a lot of
Greek and Latin quotes. See the next entry.
Trench, Richard Chenevix, Synonyms of the New Testament, ed. Robert G. Hoerber.
(This edition translates the copious uses of Greek and Latin quotations into
English. It is for the English reader who does not read Greek and Latin. I read New
Testament Greek, but not classical Greek or Latin, so I like this version.) Published
by Baker Book House in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vincent, Marvin, Word Studies in the New Testament. Online at
http:\/\/www.studylight.org\/commentaries\/vnt\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Westcott, B.F., The Epistle to the Hebrews. This is a classic academic commentary on
the Greek text first published in 1889 by Macmillan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these books are available at Amazon. I buy most books used. At
booksprice.com you can compare prices at various used book dealers.
Abebooks.com is the used dealer I use most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: Any internet addresses are subject to change at any time. You may have to
initiate a new search if a site does not come up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Copyright \u00a9 2018 by Tom Adcox. All rights reserved. You may share this work
with others, provided you do not alter it and do not sell it or use it for any
commercial purpose. \u201cFreely you have received, freely give\u201d (Matthew 10.8). Also
you must include this notice if you share it or any part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Version. New Testament translations are the author\u2019s unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"