Book of Hebrews

Jesus Christ, Greater Than Aaron

/ Bobby Mayfield / 5 Comments

Jesus Christ, Greater Than Aaron

Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter Five

In the Old Testament, the ministry of the Priest was to be a go-between between man and God.

In the New Testament church there is no such office!

In the Church there are only two biblical offices.

1.) That of the Pastor.
2.) That of the Deacon.

There is no place in the Church for any kind of priesthood!

The New Covenant of Our Lord teaches we that are saved by the grace of God in what the Bible says Is The Individual Priesthood Of Every Believer!

This means that every believer can boldly approach the throne of God without any man on this earth as a go between!

We have no need of a go-between because we have Our Mediator in Heaven, who is Our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!

Christ Jesus has the threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King!

And since the words of Christ Jesus are God’s final Word to mankind, NO MAN on his own or with the help of others, can appoint himself to be a priest, a pastor or a deacon!

In the Old Testament and under that covenant, Aaron was chosen by God to be the High Priest and he was duly ordained and installed into that office.

The main task of the Old Testament priests was at the altar!

If the sacrifices were not offered in the right place, and by the right person, they were not accepted of God!

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest to the Church!

He offered the right sacrifice, at the right place and at the right time!

“Every believer is now a priest” just as those of the tribe of Levi were God’s priesthood, before the true High Priest, Christ Jesus came!

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Our salvation is not based any ritual or by any priesthood!

Our salvation is not based on any emotional response to praise and worship!

Our salvation is based on the truth of the Written Word of God and His promises and these came through Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ is the final Word of God!

AND, The Priesthood of Christ Jesus is much greater than the priesthood of Aaron!

*****Heb 5:1  For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

What is the definition of the priest?

This verse says that every High Priest must be a man. He must represent man to God. He is ordained for man in things that pertain to God. Because he goes before God, he must be acceptable to God!

Therefore a High Priest must be:

1.) Taken from among men.

2.) They are ordained for men.

3.) They go to God for men.

There is a great difference between a priest and a prophet!

A priest represents man before God!

A prophet goes from God to man to bring God’s message!

In the Old Testament the Priest did not tell men what God had to say!

This was what the Prophet did!

Today, Jesus Christ is the only priest and there can be no more!

The priesthood of Jesus is for the believer and not for those that are lost!

Jesus represents those that are saved before God!

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Jesus died and paid the price for every sin BUT He is High Priest only to the saved believer!

When our enemy Satan accuses us before God when we fail Him, The Lord Jesus Christ comes to our defence!

I would be a foolish man to depend on some so-called priests of this world!

And so is every believer!

We can see that the priests could offer both gifts and sacrifices.

Aaron offered only animal sacrifices!

Christ Jesus offered Himself!

There will never be another sacrifice needed and there will never be another priest needed!

*****Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

Here are the words of Jesus:

Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Those disciples that followed Jesus would have known if He was telling the truth. They would have known if Jesus had done something that was against the Laws of Moses.

No other man on this Earth could say these words in truth!

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, [but the end thereof are the ways of death].

Even when we think we are doing everything right, we are probably not doing some things we should be doing!

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; [and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all].

Because all sheep go astray we must realize that we will also go astray from time to time!

Aaron had sin, and blood had to be shed to cover his sin.

Jesus Christ is able to show mercy!

He neither condones sin nor will He condemn the sinner!

When we approach God with our confession of our sins, He will not lecture us!

He will not tell us to do better next time!

Our High Priest will just extend His mercy to us!

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

*****Heb 5:3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

Now we see Aaron could not do the things Christ Jesus did!

Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself before he could sacrifice for any other person.

Jesus Christ did not have to make an offering for Himself so He made an offering for all of us!

Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself and for all the people once every year on the day of  “atonement”.

Even then those sacrifices could only cover up those sins, those sins were not forgiven!

Only by the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God can sin be cleansed and removed!

*****Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

No man can appoint himself to be priest!

Some try but they do not know the Word of God!

Under the Law given by Moses the High Priests had to lead the people in the things of God!

God chose Aaron to be High Priests and once this office was established, it became a hereditary position which passed from Aaron to his oldest son and was to continue this way until the Messiah came!

But after the Romans controlled Israel the office of High Priest became a political issue and was appointed through acts of wealth and power and submission to the throne of Rome!

The Romans appointed whomever they chose to fill that position!

The Romans allowed the Jewish worship system but only under governmental control!

The Chinese government and some others do this same thing in our day!

God was clear, the priesthood was to be Aaron and passed down through that family. This way these Jews knew exactly who would be the next High Priest and that person would serve until their death!

*****Heb 5:5  So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

Again we see that Our Lord Jesus was not begotten in Bethlehem!

Jesus Christ the Son was begotten at the Garden Tomb where He was buried after His crucifixion.

This is where His resurrection took place and this is the day He was begotten!

Forty days later, when Christ Jesus went back to Heaven was when His High Priesthood began!

The priesthood of the believer does not begin until being “Born Again”!

This is unchangeable and this is the fact of the Word of God!

*****Heb 5:6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

It is a fact that the Messiah was not to come from the line of the priesthood through Aaron!

Jesus Christ was not High Priest in the order of Aaron!

This does not mean that Aaron is not a “type” of Christ in his duties!

Aaron was just a servant chosen of God But Christ Jesus is the Son of God!

Who is Melchisedec?

The only historical record we have of Melchisedec is in the Old Testament.

Gen 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Melchisedek, is a “type” of Christ as King-Priest!

Melchisedek was at one time, man, priest, and king.

Melchisedek was not in the family of Abraham!

Israel took great pride in saying they were descendants of Abraham.

BUT, God chose His only begotten Son above all others to be High Priest and King.

It is by Him we can approach the Father! .

We should never attempt to go to God without going through His Son and we cannot expect any favor of God since any favor of God can only come through the merits of His Son!

As a “type” of Christ, Melchisedek has no record in the Bible of his beginning nor of his ending.

It is these facts that make him a “type” of the eternal Son of God!

AS king of Salem, Salem meaning peace, he was king of peace!

Christ Jesus is the Only One who is the universal King and High Priest!

Jesus Christ is truly the King of Peace and the King of Righteousness!

This was also a fulfillment of the prophesy of the Book of Psalms!

Psa 110:4  The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

*****Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications [with strong crying and tears] unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

We know that this verse is speaking of the Jesus, the Son of God, when it says “in the days of His flesh”.

The Bible records three times that Jesus shed tears in His crying:

1.) Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus:

Joh 11:34  And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.

2.) Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem:

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

3.) Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

The truth is that Jesus shed tears for us many more times than we can know!

Psa 22:2  O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

***** Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Jesus Christ was made complete and made full and made perfect by the things He suffered while in the flesh.

Not because He was not already perfect but He became the perfect sacrifice by being obedient and learning from the things He had suffered.

Not everything Jesus suffered came from the cross!

He suffered rejection and ridicule among many other things for at least three years before the cross!

What did people ask Jesus about how to get saved?

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

AND, What was Jesus’s answer?

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, [This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent].

There is no simpler answer to give anyone that ask this same question!

The only work we need to do to be saved is to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ!

This is where Satan will always lead his attack!

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted [from the simplicity that is in Christ].

The theme of this chapter in the Book of Hebrews is “Jesus Christ superior to Aaron”, the God appointed High Priest!

Jesus Christ as the Son of God was already perfect!

I believe we can see that through the suffering He had before the cross, through the suffering He had on the cross, through the suffering of loosing fellowship with The Father, and by freely being that sacrifice for all our sin, Jesus Christ became the perfect High Priest to be our go-between of us and Our Father in Heaven.

There can be no greater “Advocate” between man and God, than Jesus, The Son of God our perfect Savior!

*****Heb 5:10  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

The Greek word used for “called” in this verse, is found only this one time in the Bible!

Only Jesus, The Son of God, could be “called” of God to be the perfect High Priest, and also the only King of Peace!

God has spoken many words to show those Hebrew believers the superiority of Christ Jesus, The Son of God!

It would be foolish for anyone to return to a trust in those old laws!

Legalism and ritualism are the downfall of many of the houses of Body of Christ even in our day!

To walk with God is to be mature in the ways of His Son!

There are to many today that hold to the idea that a man can be saved today, and then, through some sin, ruin his salvation tomorrow or some other day and die without God.

But, The fact is when you believe and have met the Perfect Savior, who then becomes your Perfect High Priest, then salvation is in His hands and you have no other part even in your own salvation!

Every believer is then “Born To God”!

AND, God keeps all His children!

God does not throw away any of His children!

Our God is not a dead beat dad!

In fact God makes a home for all wayward children that is perfect and is permanent!

Once saved then, every believer needs to stay in and be obedient to the Word of God!

Every believer is instructed to grow in the “Grace of God”!

*****Heb 5:11  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

When we become tired of hearing the Word of God we will break fellowship with God by grieving the Holy Spirit!

We get the term “backsliding” because of these that have become dull to hearing the Word of God!

In other words, the preaching becomes dull, Sunday School becomes dull, the Sunday School teacher seems to be dull, the pastor becomes dull.

The problem is not in these people and what they do, the problem is that we have become dull to hearing the Word of God!

It is a true saying that most believers remain “Babes in Christ” all their lives:

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

This one thing brings more problems into God’s Church than any other thing!

Paul writes:

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

It is the Word of God that increases our faith!

Again Paul writes:

1Th 2:13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, [but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe].

It is the Word of God that makes us effective believers!

Even Job said:

Job 42:5  I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

It is by hearing, reading, and studying the Word of God, that we can see God!

We are foolish when we remain “Babes in Christ” and miss out on the blessings that come from the Word of God!

*****Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Not all believers can be teachers. I do not feel that I am much of a teacher!

But,  sharing the Word of God is an ability that God wants us all to have and He wrote it all down for us and all we have to do is present His Word!

We must share what God has given to us all!

This verse says that these Hebrew believers “had to be taught again” the basic principles of salvation.

They were in fact experiencing a second childhood as a child of God!

In the Book of Revelation, God teaches us about the Church Ages.

The final Church Age tells us of lukewarm believers.

In this Church Age there are “Babes in Christ” and non-believers.

We can see that the Gospel is not spread because of the Babes in Christ, who will not and cannot spread God’s Word and there will be a falling away from the Word of God!

This is the lesson of the writer of the Book of Hebrews to the Jewish believers.

Even those who study God’s Word can become dull of hearing God’s Word!

When we cease to progress spiritually we are going back-wards!

We have become backsliders!

Our sensitivity to God lessens!

Our understanding of the Bible becomes more difficult!

It truly takes a commitment to the study of the Word of God, which includes the preaching and also includes Sunday School!

We should all have the goal of getting closer to God and we do that with Bible study and Prayer and Meditating on the Words of Jesus!

We cannot leave off either one and we cannot stop going to the House of God!

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

*****Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

If God would dress each one of us according to our spiritual growth, Just What Would We Look Like?

Like babes, like toddlers or possibly would we be in mature spiritual clothes?

Each one of us have to make this decision on our own!

It is always time to grow in Christ!

It does not matter how active you are in the Church, if you do not take the Word of God seriously!

This Book of Hebrews is some of the meat of the Bible!

We must accept that Jesus Christ is above all others in the Bible.

The Bible is His Word!

We begin our Christian life according to the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, and His finished work on the cross. His death, His burial and His resurrection!

We grow as Christians because our High Priest is at our defence at the right hand of God!

God expects us to grow:

Heb 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

*****Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even those who by reason of use] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

My biggest fear in trying to teach is that I will not handle the Word of God properly because it is the strong meat of God’s Word that we need to learn and teach.

Jesus Christ made salvation simple but He requires us to be His witnesses on this Earth after we are saved.

We can certainly do some of that with the way we lead our lives after salvation!

There are always those that are looking at your life if you say you are Christian!

But, we must lead our lives according to what the Word of God says and not on what we think God’s Word says!

The Bible says:

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

We will never understand the Bible until we use it and handle it properly!

You know, A BABY WILL PUT ANYTHING IN IT’S MOUTH!

If we do not have a good understanding of the Word of God then we will be led astray by those that teach a false doctrine, and who deliberately twist the Word of God into something that is not the truth of the Gospel.

We owe it to our own children, to the children of this Church and to everyone that God sends across our path, to be able to share the Gospel!

This what God left us here on this earth to do!

What was Aaron’s job?

1Ch 6:49  But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, [according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded].

We should see that Christ Jesus is much greater than Aaron and all the High Priests that came after him!

The nation of Israel were never able to discern between good and evil!

Our own nation is failing because people do not know how to discern between good and evil!

The only thing that can change these things is for everyone to become mature Christians and share the Word of God!

We can do that only when obey God by learning His Word!

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Let’s Pray!

Jesus Christ, Greater Than Moses

/ Bobby Mayfield / 5 Comments

Christ, Greater Than Moses

Hebrews Chapter 3

There are many good reasons to study the Book of Hebrews after a study of the five Books of Moses. We can better understand the Old Testament if we think of it as the Word of God written to “a redeemed people” rather than written “to redeem a people”.

God had rescued Israel from the bondage of Egypt. This nation of freed slaves should have recognized the power of God and submitted to His Laws.

A saved people should display their faith by willfully living in the submission to God’s Word!

When we fail to obey God’s Word then we are saying that we do not belong to God or we are saying we just do not care to know if there is a real God!

Israel had obtained the land of Palestine because of the covenant God made to Abraham!

God had told Abraham that before his descendants could live on that covenant land they would spend 400 years in bondage!

God reached down to a simple shepherd in the wilderness named Moses and caused him to be a redeemer of his own true people.

Moses delivered this people from a “physical” bondage and led them through the wilderness.

Moses was set apart from  the other Israelites as a judge and as a ruler, and as the lawgiver.

We have seen that Moses was in fact a “type” of Christ!

God had set down a pattern of what His true redeemer would fulfill!

God had given The Law which was to be the foundation of Israel’s daily life!

These laws revealed the kind of life God expected of a redeemed people “if they were to live in fellowship with Him”!

Those Laws were to rule every aspect of all those God had redeemed from the bondage of the “iron furnace” of Egypt.

That “iron furnace” is in “type” a picture of Hell!

Because of all of this Moses was held in the highest esteem of the people of Israel!

But we also saw that the children of Israel often-ed murmured and rebelled against Moses.

Now, We have already seen that Christ is superior to all the prophets of God!

We have already seen that Christ is superior to any and every angel!

We will see today that Christ Jesus is superior to Moses!

We should consider these things as we see that the Holy Spirit has given this writer of the Book of Hebrews, who I personally believe to be the Apostle Paul, these words that tell us of Our Savior who is much greater than any human being.

*****Our Text:

Heb 3:1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

When we see the word “wherefore” we are cautioned to look both ways”. We are to look back to what was written in previous verses and forward to what is written after the passage we are reading.

The phrase “holy brethren” makes it clear that this was written to a saved people, of the family of God. We are brothers and sisters in that same family of God and should show it by loving each other as God loves us.

We can know this is true by the phrase “partakers of [the] heavenly calling”!

To be a “partaker of the heavenly calling” is to be filled with the Holy Ghost!

The Apostle Paul said:

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, [as many as be perfect, be thus minded]: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Paul wrote in another place:

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, [seek those things which are above], where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

To be a Christian is then to not only “share a heavenly calling” but it is also to “share the Lord Jesus Christ”!

Through the Holy Spirit we are members of His Body, and therefore the Body of Christ!

Again Paul wrote:

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

If we are ashamed of these things then we cannot call ourselves Christians!

Again Paul wrote:

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Jesus Christ “as the Apostle” spoke from God to men. The word Apostle means “sent from God”. Jesus is the “One Son” sent from God!

Jesus Christ represents the “Sender” of all the Apostles that He has chosen!

Jesus said in the Book of Matthew:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, [All power] is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

That word “all” can only mean one thing, JESUS HAS “ALL” POWER!

THERE IS NOT ONE THING THAT HAS MORE POWER THAN OUR LORD JESUS!

As the only High Priests of our profession, He is the Head of the Church!

Without His intercession we could never be accepted of God!

You see it was necessary to remind these early Jewish Christians who had such a high respect of Moses that it is not possible to mix Their Law with the absolute “Grace” of God!

Jesus Christ as the Son was greater than Moses and therefore the Words of Jesus were final and His sacrifice was sufficient. Nothing to be added and nothing to be taken away!

*****Heb 3:2  Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

When God chose Moses, He used him to lead His people out of the bondage of Egypt. God insured that Moses wrote down things that we all now know as the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.

God made sure that Moses even wrote down where he had failed for us all to see. You see Moses was just a man and like all men Moses failed God many times.

But at the time of Moses, in this new Jewish nation, Moses was the most faithful to God!

Our Savior is also the most faithful, but He is the most faithful in all the House of God, which is the Church.

Jesus Christ is the most faithful to the Lord God of the Holy Trinity than any man!

Just as Christ was faithful to Father God, then we should all be faithful!

The Apostle Peter preached:

Act 2:22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24  [Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it].

It is not ever possible for this world to hold onto a child of the living God!

*****Heb 3:3  For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.

Moses was faithful in God’s House, BUT, It is the Lord Jesus Christ who built the House!

Jesus is the Creator!

Moses like any other man is just the creature!

Just as all the prophets!

And, Just as all the Angels!

We read:

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us [into the kingdom of his dear Son]:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15  [Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature]:

*****Heb 3:4  For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

We never read in the Pentateuch where Mose made this claim of himself.

Moses wrote about things to come, But if God built all things and Jesus Christ built God’s House, then Jesus must be God!

*****Heb 3:5  And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

It is a great honor to be a servant of God and we can see that Moses has a written record in the Bible that he was a true servant of the Living God!

Moses was never called the Son of God!

There is a great difference in “the servant of the house” and “the son of the house”!

Christ is the “Creator” and He is also the Son in what we know as the Holy Trinity, “The Father, The Son, And The Holy Spirit”!

What are the conditions for remaining in God’s House, we might ask?

We must hold fast to our confidence, which is our faith!

And we must maintain our joy of salvation in the hope given to us from our God!

The Bible tells us what this hope is all about!

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

and again:

Tit 3:7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Our hope is in the Word of God and we should appreciate all these things that He has written down for us!

We can relate our “confidence” to our freedom of speech!

We are free to speak, when we have no fear of our beliefs!

We should have no fear in speaking out the written Word of God!

These Words of God are not intended to cause hatred to any one and are only intended to show the world the truth!

A believer that speaks in boldness is only responding to his confidence in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Our hope comes from the fact that we are truly “Born Again” [and have no shame] of the Word of God!

1.) Knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior is more than just repeating some prayer!

2.) Knowing Christ, but ignoring the responsibility to obey Him will cause you to forfeit any blessings!

It may be possible to live as a carnal, uncommitted Christian but this should not be something to be desired!

It will not be a very good life and certainly not a joy filled life!

God has been warning us that there is great danger in drifting away from His Word!

*****Heb 3:7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

Again the word “wherefore”. We need to look back on what we have just read and look forward to what is about to be said.

In other words, since the words spoken by the angels and the words of Moses are held in such a high regard, how much greater should be the importance of the words of Jesus, The Son of God.

We need to be very careful not to doubt the words of Jesus!

God will not accept any excuse for failure to obey His Word.

1Jn 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

*****Heb 3:8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: Heb 3:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

God is teaching these new Hebrew believers a valuable lesson using the Old Testament.

In the Exodus journey, God working through Moses, had brought Israel safely to the entrance of Canaan Land. They had insisted on sending out the 12 spies which was unnecessary!

They were doubting the Word of God!

God had said:

Deu 1:21  Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: [go up and possess it], as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

It is that act of disobedience that caused the children of Israel to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until those that did not believe died off.

Remember, this book was written to early Christians and is a warning to be obedient not only to God’s Word but to pay close attention and obey especially the Words of His Son!

It was not God’s will for Israel to remain in Egypt or in that wilderness!

His desire was for them to enter in that land of promise!

They made the choice to follow their own way and ignore the Word of God!

When we ignore the Word of God, we are going to travel in the wilderness of this world and if God’s Word is totally ignored there will be no entrance into the promised place of Heaven!

We have the promise of the Holy Spirit and also a warning to the Church:

Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Canaan land is a “type” of our spiritual inheritance in Jesus Christ!

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places] in Christ:

Eph 1:11  [In whom also we have obtained an inheritance], being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Now these early Christian believers could not loose the rest they would have when they got to Heaven and nor can any believer but if they and we also, ignore the Word of God, we will not live in the peace and the rest of salvation while we are still living’ and our lives will be in continuous turmoil.

It is “the peace of God” that brings peace to every believer!

AND, The only way to stay close to God is to stay close to His Word!

AND, The only way to enjoy the fruits of this world is to stay close to God’s Word!

It takes a close personal relationship with Our Lord to find “the rest” that brings peace to our souls while we are still alive.

*****Heb 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Now we see the end of the “wherefore” of verse 7.

Notice it does not say that God was angry with their sin for we are all still sinners!

God was angry because “they did not believe” His written Word!

It is possible to fall out of fellowship with the living God, without loosing your salvation!

AND, Not every saved individual is a true Christian!

The title Christian still means to be like Jesus Christ!

*****Heb 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

God is saying that sin can be so deceitful that we can be lured in thinking our lives are satisfactory to Him, though we are actually living in the wilderness of this world.

We become complacent about abortion, when we should hate this sin but still love the sinner.

We become complacent about the gay life style though we should hate this sin but still love the sinner.

We become complacent about murder, thievery, and all other sin as long as it does not affect us.

God says we are just as deep in sin, if not more, because we have ignored His Word and feel like we are safe in our own little world.

We are suppose to condemn all sin just as God’s Word teaches and we are supposed to love each other and our enemies just as the Word of God teaches!

We are to exhort each other daily and teach every brother and sister to do the same!

If we become hardened by our own sin, we will not condemn our own actions and we will allow “the sin of ignoring God’s Word” to rule in our own lives!

***** Heb 3:14  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Heb 3:15  While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

A partaker with Jesus Christ is one who shares His heritage!

We are in the family of Christ and share each other by the Holy Spirit. We are members of His house!

There is “rest” for the soul for all those that hold these thoughts to the end of our physical life!

In other words we not only to trust the Lord Jesus for our salvation, we are also to trust Him for our day by day living.

Jesus said to pray:

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

If we do not hold the confidence of our salvation and be a complete partaker in Jesus Christ, we will live a miserable Christian life!

We cannot loose our salvation but we will not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit:

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We will not be of much use as a disciple of God without the fruit of the Spirit!

When we do not believe not only that Our God can save, BUT also believe that He is Lord of this universe then we cannot commit our lives to Him completely!

We must turn everything over to Him!

That’s not only our own lives but we must give Him control of our families!

How can we pray for safe traveling mercy when we are on the road if we were not sure that God is in control of this universe?

This the “rest” that comes when we give ourselves totally to Him!

This the “rest” we lose when we do not give ourselves totally to Him and we will  live in misery and doubt caused by unbelief!

We need the power of Christ not only for salvation but also for our daily living!

BUT We need His great wisdom in our time of need and His strength to live our daily lives:

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: [for without me ye can do nothing].

Jesus would not have said this if it were not true!

*****Heb 3:16  For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

This word “provoke” means God was highly displeased with them because they heard the Word of God, they saw the miracles of God yet they still could not or would not believe.

They had faith enough to come out of Egypt but they failed in their faith along the journey.

They were still redeemed but they lived in misery and doubt!

*****Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

The greatest sin we have before God is the sin of unbelief!

The next greatest sin we have, is doubting God’s Word!

After we are saved, this is the greatest sin of the believer!

When we doubt the Word of God, it will lead to even greater sin!

A great many believers still walk in the ways of the world because they do not really know what it is to truly trust Jesus Christ with all their lives!

These partial believers, will travel in the wilderness of this world all the days of their lives!

Even the lost will seem to have greater joy than these that know salvation but do not know the real power of God while still on this Earth!

*****Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

When God takes an oath, you can know that He really means what He says!

These scriptures have shown us how we can learn from the Old Testament in our walk with God.

God does not change. We absolutely cannot please God if we do not place our our trust in Him:

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We can be saved AND still miss out on rewards in Heaven but we will also miss out on a rewarding Christian life while we are still here and living.

*****Heb 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

When God pulls out that Heavenly Hickory because of our sin, the pain is real! Believers who doubt the Word of God and rebel against Him do not miss out on Heaven, but they do miss out on the blessings that are available while we are still living and must suffer the chastening of that Hickory Switch of God!

This is the truth of this Chapter of Hebrews and the truth of the living God!

Moses was a servant to the living God!

Christ Jesus is the Son of the Living God, we must believe without doubt on the Lord Jesus Christ!

God truly wants us to be blessed!

Questions.

Let’s Pray!

Jesus Christ, The Eternal Son Of God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Christ—The Eternal Son Of God

Our Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter 1

I have always considered the Book of Hebrews my favorite book of the Bible BUT, I have grown to realize that every Book of the Bible should be my favorite.

There are no unimportant scriptures in the Word Of God!

We will find out that Jesus Christ is the main subject in this wonderful book. Jesus Christ may no longer be in a physical body on this Earth but He still abides in each and every believer!

Jesus Christ is now in Heaven with the Father and He has become Our High Priest and He intercedes for “all the ones He owns”.

He paid dearly with His blood to purchase each and every believer and now defends each one in Heaven as our advocate. An advocate is somewhat like a lawyer.

Jesus Christ:

1.) Lived on Earth as a man.
2.) He also died on this Earth as a man.
3.) But Jesus Christ arose with the Power of God and now lives in God’s Presence.
4.) And Now at this time,  Jesus Christ is our permanent High Priest to the Church.

The Bible says:

Heb 7:24  But this man, because he continueth ever, [hath an unchangeable priesthood].

Even when Jesus returns as the King of the Jews, He will still be High Priest to the Church, and Husband to the Bride of Christ.

When Jesus died, He ended the dispensation of The Law and ushered in a New Covenant that was written with His Own Blood!

This New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant and more involved, so then it must replace the Old One.

This is the message we should learn from the Book of Hebrews!

We may not know who wrote the Book of Hebrews until we get to Heaven when God says we will know all things and have the mind of Jesus Christ.

But what we need to know is:

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This great book was probably directed at early Jewish believers. In fact the Church began with early Jewish believers and there are still Jewish believers, BUT the key word is of course “Believer” and every believer should study the entire Bible.

The Jews had to understand, and some did, that the time of the Law had ended along with the time of all animal sacrifices.

Jesus was our sacrifice and Jesus paid it all at the cross!

To say that Jesus Christ is superior to all the Old Testament prophets would be especially meaningful to the Jewish believer and maybe not as much to the Gentile believer.

To the Gentile, Jesus is more the fulfillment of all Bible prophesy!

Jesus is our Savior and not so much the Prophet to the Church!

There are many who want to be prophets but we can have only one Savior and we already know Him!

At the time of the writings of Hebrews it is very probable that most everyone that had known Jesus personally had died. I do believe that the Apostle John was still alive and also the Apostle Paul who I believe had some part in, or maybe the writer of this book.

But, It is God who wrote all the Bible!

As we know, God is a God of timing and there can be no doubt that this book was written at a critical time in the life of the Jewish Believer.

The Temple was still standing but it would only be a few years before Titus came to destroy Israel and Jerusalem and cause the dispersion of Israel for the third and last time.

This book would encourage the Jewish believer to believe that Jesus was superior to all the Old Testament traditions and all the Old Testament prophets!

When we study this book we should be encouraged to know what we are trusting in.

It is the Word of God that we can trust and not the words of this world we live in!

The world of the Jew was a world of chaos at this time and if we open our eyes we can also see a world in chaos against God and His people at this time we live in.

AND, God warns us of rejecting the teachings of Jesus:

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, [if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven]:
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: [but now he hath promised], saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

There should not be any doubt that this book and most all the New Testament focuses on the future from the time they were written.

We live in part of that future time spoken of in the Bible:

Heb 2:5  For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection [he world to come, whereof we speak].

We are living in the days just before the  soon coming Glory Days of Christ Jesus and we are actually some of that future spoken of in the Book of Hebrews.

Our Text:

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

When we study the Book of Hebrews we should have a better understanding of how much superior the Christian faith is above all other religions! The word “better” is seen many times in Hebrews. Our goal, to learn about Christ Jesus should include the Book of Hebrews.

BUT, The Book of Hebrews will also challenge us to see Jesus as He is now!

We also should keep in mind the main purpose God had in “Creation”.

1.) God wants every one of us to know Him on a personal level,  just as Adam did before his fall.
2.) But, God wants us to know that our joy on this Earth will happen only through a personal  relationship with Him.

The very first word in this great book is “God”. This means the Supreme, Divine Magistrate, The Godhead, The God that is the Holy Trinity!

This is the “Creator” of this universe that we live and Our God expects us to accept that fact, so He does not mention why or how He is God.

AND, There will be no excuse for not knowing this God:

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  [For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen], being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

There is only one way to please God:

Heb 11:6 [But without faith it is impossible to please him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

*****Sundry times would mean at various times through many men, as Abraham through Moses and all others. The Old Testament was written over a 1500 year period and from a period of about 4000 years before Jesus.

God did not give all His truth to Abraham but revealed it at certain times to many others until the time of Jesus.

*****Divers manners would mean in different ways, as God will use all His Creation especially humans to do His speaking, but He has also spoken out Himself through the Holy Spirit.

We should realize that we have a God who speaks to His People!

God has used many ways of communicating to those that wrote the Old Testament.

He used dreams, He spoke through the Laws of Moses, He spoke through the design and the building of the Tabernacle and the Temple. He spoke through the sacrifices, and He spoke through “Types” and He has spoken through His “Creation”!

He spoke through His Psalms and He spoke through as many as 45 writers of the Bible.

He has given us His Divine will by giving us His Inspired Word!

[All scripture is given by inspiration of God]

*****The words “in time past” are in references to the Old Testament, that we have with us today.

God has indeed spoken to us all and with these scriptures but we immediately see that we did not have the completed Word until God spoke to us all through His Son!

What other religion can say they have a God who speaks to His people?

Most false religions begin by certain leaders who say a god spoke to them and they were to teach all others.

Jehovah our God speaks to all His children!

*****We should also know that these words that were spoken by the The Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, are superior to all the prophets of the Old Testament.

God wanted all the Hebrew believers to be aware of this fact.!

Jesus Christ is superior for He was not only a man but He is “The Son Of God”!

Jesus was not just a man that was called of God!

We must also realize that if God spoke out of Heaven to anyone in our day, [He would only repeat what He has already written down for us]!

There will not ever be any new chapters of our Bible!
There will never be any NEW WORD OF GOD!
If there are any new revelations they will come from the Word He has already given to us!

We have a completed work and the complete Word of God [and it came by His Son]!

*****The Son, is the heir of all things of the Father!

*****The Son, is the Creator of all things!

*****The Son, is the completer of and, the fulfillment of the written Word of God!

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

And who is this Son?

Joh 1:14  [And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us], (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And John the Baptist said, this is the One, This is the Son:

Joh 1:15  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, [but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ].

*****The “express image”:

The Bible teaches us that Jesus was not just another sign nor was He just another revelation of God.

Jesus Christ is God’s final and ultimate revelation of Himself to all people.

The New Age movement then is a lie!
Eastern mysticism is then a lie!
Humanism is then a lie!
Islam is then a lie!
All Cults are lies!

Anything that is not of Christ Jesus is then a lie!

Jesus Christ is the brightness of God’ Glory!

Jesus Christ is not a reflection of God but Is The Shining Forth Of God’s Glory!

Jesus Christ is “ONE” WITH GOD!

Jesus Christ, The Son, is the full and perfect revelation of what is in Our Father in Heaven!

AND, We can know The Father because we know The Son!

*****The Son upholds all things.

In other words this creation of God that we live in is sustained and kept in it’s creative order by the power of the Son of God!

It is God that sits on the throne. It is through His Son that is in perfect control of the events that take place on this Earth!

Time will pass just as He says these Ages will come to pass!

If you study His Words you can know what “Age” you live in and how we should all be busy about the work He has given us to do!

*****It is this Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that “By Himself” cleansed us from all our sin!

This is the “image” God wants us to see:

Jesus Christ, The Son, is the “revelation” of God’s Love, God’s Grace, God’s Justice, God’s Holiness, and God’s Righteousness.

This is the “revelation” God gives us of cleansing us of our personal sin and He will one day cleanse His entire creation of sin and the curses.

This is the promise God makes and this is why we should base our salvation on the promises of God! He is the God, who has never failed and His Son who paid the price for our salvation with His blood.

*****Our Lord is now back at home doing exactly what He said He would be doing.

He is preparing us a mansion in His Fathers house, and He is interceding on our behalf, BUT He is also praying for our victory over this sinful world!

What a Savior we have!

*****Our Text:

Heb 1:4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Heb 1:6  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Jesus Christ did not die to save any of the fallen angels! They will never be restored!

Jesus died to save mankind!

Jesus is superior to any angel and any prophet! We read a lot about angels in the Old Testament but we do not read of an angel ministry connected to the Church.

Do we all have guardian angels?

Are angels busy doing what God tells them to do?

A child of God is indwelled with the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God and not one angel has the power of the Holy Spirit!

Angels are Heavenly personalities, they have no place to dwell on this Earth.

They are made for the presence of God. Angels are glorious creatures, and they are wonderful and powerful and skillful and they know many great things, but they do not know the feeling of being indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

Angels are seen in battles!

Angels are seen in death!

When an angle comes on the scene, “victory is assured” BUT it is not because of the angel it is because of the Lord of those angels.

They will do whatever the will of God without question and without remorse!

But among all the angels there is none as great as God’s Son.

Every angel in Heaven could be sacrificed and not one lost person could have been saved!

Not one angel could pay the penalty of our sin!

Not one angel could become a man so they could die!

Not one angel could shed blood, they do not have blood! And without the “shedding of blood” there can be no remission of sin:

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Only Christ Jesus, The “ONLY” begotten Son, could pay the price for all our sin!

When was Jesus “begotten”? When He was brought back from the dead!

Jesus was not begotten in Bethlehem!

The begotten is the work of God:

Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, [Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee].
Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

God will do whatever He desires with His angels.

He may change them into winds, or flames of fire and He has done these things and still does these things!

And ,we should  know that God is good and everything He does is good!

*****Heb 1:13  [But to which of the angels said he at any time], Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

To make more sense of this verse let’s look at what Jesus said as He responded to the questions of the High Priest before He was crucified:

Mar 14:61  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mar 14:62  And Jesus said, [I am]: and [ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power], and coming in the clouds of heaven.

In Matthew we see:

Mat 22:41  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
Mat 22:42  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
Mat 22:43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
Mat 22:44  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Mat 22:45  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

Now back to our scripture in Hebrews, I personally believe it can be said that you will never find a place in the Old Testament where God said any of the angels were His sons!

The Psalms teach “the deity” of Christ and there is a more complete picture of Christ in the Psalms than in the Gospels.

Jesus said:

Luk_24:44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, [that all things must be fulfilled], which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and [in the psalms, concerning me].

The right hand of God, is the place of honor for only the [begotten Son of God]!

We have already stated Jesus is the [begotten Son of God] because He arose from the death of the cross!

No angel could ever reach this place of honor as the Son of God!

There is only one Son in the Holy Trinity and that Son is Jesus:

Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 3:22  Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; [angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him].

There is no other Savior because there is no other Son of God!

Most false religions and most cults will honor Jesus, but only with there own man-made doctrine BUT, when they are confronted with the truth of Sin, and Righteousness, and Judgment, they will not accept that Jesus was God in the flesh!

It is a fact that no one in this world can be saved until they face there own decision of just “what are they going to do with Jesus”!

According to the Book of Hebrews, to reject Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Bible, is to reject the “One True God”!

The angels are powerful creations of God!

They were created back in Genesis 1:1.
 
An angel cannot die!

The angels are ministering spirits that were created to do obey the will of God!

BUT,

Not one angel can intercede on the behalf of God’s children!
Not one angel can be a mediator for God’s children!
Not one angel can answer pray!
Not one angel can fill you with God’s Holy Spirit!
Not one angel can save you from the wrath of God!
And, Not one angel can forgive sin!

We have only one advocate, and that “ONE”, is the Christ of God, the Lord Jesus, The Son!

Jesus Christ is greater then the angels!
Jesus Christ is greater than the Laws of Moses! 
Jesus Christ is sitting on the throne of Power, YET, He still humbles Himself to intercede for every “Born Again” child of God!

What a precious Savior we have!

Christ Jesus is the Son, angels are His servants!

Christ Jesus will return as the King, angels are His subjects!

Christ Jesus is the Creator, angels are creatures of His creation!

Christ is now sitting on His throne in Heaven waiting until He will come to destroy His enemies with His angels.

He will wait until God stops calling on the Lost to be saved!

God says His Son will one day rule over all His creation SO, Jesus is much higher than any angel!

We must remember when Jesus returns as King, He will rule in Israel for 1000 years.

He will redeem His creation to Himself!
He will reverse the effects of the curse, and our environment will be restored as it was in the days of Adam and there will be harmony in this Earth again!

But we must also remember before this happens, the Church will be called out!

Satan will send a “false messiah” who says that he can bring peace to this Earth and there will be seven years of Satan’s lies before the truth of the Gospel is revealed with the return of Christ Jesus.

There is no evil that can stand before the Glory of God and His Son.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

How can we not trust the truth of the Word of God?

Questions

Let’s Pray!

New Testament Survey (Book of Hebrews)

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

“NEW TESTAMENT SURVEY” (Hebrews)

INTRO:

The book of Hebrews is commonly believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul. This book begins in a way that is a bit different than his other books though it ends similarly. As we know all scripture is inspired of God. All scripture is profitable for Doctrine.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

So the actual writer is not as important as the truth of God’s Word. It was extremely tough on a Jew to give up his beliefs in Judaism and convert to a Christian. A Jew would be immediately treated as a dead person, treated as they did not exist and could not find work. They would be thrown out of their worship centers. EXCOMMUNICATED, Expelled or separated from communion with a church, and a participation of its ordinances, rights and privileges.

The “THEME” of the Book of Hebrews is “BETTER THINGS”. Things are better with Jesus Christ! IT’S THE WISE CHOICE.

The Book of Hebrews was written to “ENCOURAGE THE JEWS” and all CHRISTIANS.

Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 10:12  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

I.) JESUS IS “SUPERIOR” TO THE ANGELS!

Heb 1:4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

     a.) The Contrast:

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers [by the prophets],
Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us [by his Son], whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

We can see that no matter who God spoke through in the past, HE NOW SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS SON JESUS. Jesus is “Heir” to “ALL” things. It is Jesus who will set on the throne of David.

Luk 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

It is Jesus who will rule the government!

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isa 9:8  The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

     b.) THE WARNING:

Heb 2:1  [Therefore] we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

The word [therefore] refers back to the previous scripture,

(because God speaks through His Son)

Heb 2:2  [For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward];

If the word of God spoken by His angels was steadfast and sure, “THEN THEREFORE” WE HAD BETTER PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDS SPOKEN OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON!

Heb 2:3  [How shall we escape], if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

FOR HOW COULD WE ESCAPE! BY “NEGLECTING” SO GREAT A SALVATION.

God does not waste scripture. There is no wasted Word of God. Jesus Christ is just THE MORE IMPORTANT. [Therefore] we need to give more earnest heed to Jesus.

Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Isa 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Isa 45:19  I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

     c.) THE HUMILTY OF JESUS:

Heb 2:16  [For verily he took not on him the nature of angels]; (but he took on him the seed of Abraham).
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

God could just as easily have come as an angel but GOD CHOSE to come to us in the same flesh that we carry every day.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

II.) JESUS IS “SUPERIOR” TO MOSES!

Heb 3:3  For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Heb 3:4  For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

To the Jew, Moses was the greatest man that ever lived. A “prophet” in fact in the Book of Psalms he is said to be chief of prophets.

     a.) Jesus Christ is the “True” servant.

Heb 3:5  And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, [as a servant], for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6  But Christ [as a son] over his own house; [whose house are we], if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Moses was a servant, and a great man but, JESUS CHRIST “AS THE SON” OF GOD WAS A “TRUE” SERVANT.

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

HE WILL ABIDE FOREVER IN HIS HOUSE. (whose house are we)

     b.) THE WARNING:

Heb 3:7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, [To day if ye will hear his voice],
Heb 3:8  [Harden not your hearts], as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

The Holy Ghost says [the very day] you hear the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, THEN THAT DAY “TODAY” IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. If you wait then it could be to late!

III.) JESUS IS “SUPERIOR” TO THE HIGH PRIESTS!

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that [we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens], Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15  For [we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities]; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us [therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace], that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

     a.) Jesus is greater than Aaron:

Heb 5:1  For [every high priest taken from among men] is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that [he himself also is compassed with infirmity].
Heb 5:3  And [by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins].
Heb 5:4  [And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron].
Heb 5:5  [So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee].

As the “sin free” Son of God, Christ had no infirmities. Jesus Christ had and “HAS” no sin to repent of. Christ was also called of God as the scripture shows. The High Priest could only go in the Holy of Holies once a year. The  High Priest had a special dress code to meet. He also had to present the blood of an innocent animal before he entered in, “BUT” all High Priests tied a rope to their leg just in case they had failed in some way, for God would strike them dead and the rope was used to pull them back out. They had bells on the seams of their garments so they could be heard when they were moving. If no bells were heard then those outside the Holy of Holies would pull the rope to get them out.

     b.) The Appeal:
 
Heb 6:12  That ye be not slothful, [but followers of them who through faith] and patience inherit the promises.
Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, [because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself],

YOU CANNOT GET ANY HIGHER THAN JEHOVAH GOD.

Psa 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
Psa 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

IV.) JESUS IS “SUPERIOR” TO MELCHISEDEK!

Heb 7:22  By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

     a.) The greatness of Melchizedek:

Heb 7:1  For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, [priest of the most high God], who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
Heb 7:2  [To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all]; first being by interpretation [King of righteousness], and after that also [King of Salem], which is, [King of peace];
Heb 7:3  [Without father], [without mother], [without descent], [having neither beginning of days, nor end of life]; (but made like unto the Son of God); [abideth a priest continually].

Gen 14:18  And [Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God].
Gen 14:19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

The Jewish people had a special reverence for Melchizedek. Melchizedek set up a great feast, somewhat similar to the Lord’s Supper and fed the returning army of Abraham. Was this the reincarnate Son of God of the Old Testament. Many believe it is and it very well could be.

“But” IT IS JESUS THAT IS MADE SURITY BY A BETTER TESTAMENT.

     b.) There is a New Priesthood:

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) [what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec], and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  [For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law].

We now have the priesthood of the believer made possible by GOD’S NEW LAW OF “GRACE”.

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

    c.) It is a PERMANENT PRIESTHOOD:

Heb 7:24  But this man, [because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood].
Heb 7:25  Wherefore [he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him], [seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them].

     d.) It is a PERFECT PRIESTHOOD!

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: [for this he did once, when he offered up himself].

     e.) Because it is a PERFECT COVENANT!

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: [We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens];
Heb 8:2  [A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched], and not man.
Heb 8:3  [For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer].
Heb 8:4  [For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest], (seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount).
Heb 8:6  [But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises].
Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, [then should no place have been sought for the second].

GRACE, GRACE, GOD’S GRACE.

V.) JESUS IS THE “SUPERIOR” SACRIFICE!

     a.) The “Limits” of the old sacrifice:

Heb 9:9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

This sacrifice was good only for a year and was continuous one year at a time.

     b.) The “perfection” of the “new sacrifice”:

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, [but by his own blood] he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Zec 3:9  For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and [I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day].

One day the day of the Cross.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

     c.) THE GREAT SACRIFICE:

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14  [How much more shall the blood of Christ], [who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God]?
Heb 9:15  And for this cause [he is the mediator of the new testament], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, [they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance].

   
VI.) The Hall of Fame of “FAITH”:

Chapter 11:1-40 Please read.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

     a.) The “definition” of FAITH:

Heb 11:1 [Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen].
Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

     b.) The Examples:

Heb 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,

Heb 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Heb 11:11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed,

Heb 11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:

And many more:

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? [for the time would fail me] to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33  [Who through faith subdued kingdoms], [wrought righteousness], [obtained promises], [stopped the mouths of lions],
Heb 11:34  [Quenched the violence of fire], [escaped the edge of the sword], [out of weakness were made strong], [waxed valiant in fight], [turned to flight the armies of the aliens].

IF WE HAD THE FAITH OF THE LOWLY MUSTARD SEED MAYBE WE COULD ACCOMPLISH MORE FOR GOD!

JESUS SAID:

Luk 17:6  And the Lord said, [If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed], ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, [If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed], ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

IF WE JUST HAD JUST A LITTLE FAITH THE CHURCH COULD NOT BE STOPPED.

     c.) WE MUST SERVE THE BEST WE CAN!

Heb 12:1  [Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses], [let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us],
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

wherefore: (for this reason)

We know that clouds are in the sky. Is God telling us that these who had so much faith in the book of Hebrews are watching and witnessing to see if we have such faith OR ANY FAITH.

Then we need to lay aside anything that keeps us from serving God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Beset means: To surround; to inclose; to hem in; to besiege; as, we are beset with enemies; a city is beset with troops. Hence, To press on all sides, so as to perplex; to entangle, so as to render escape difficult or impossible.
 
“AND GET IN THE RACE”!

VII.) THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH:

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1Th 1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
1Th 1:4  Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

     a.) The Preacher/Teacher RESPONSIBILTIY:

[let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us],

1Co 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2Ti 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

IF I DO NOT PROTECT MY TESTIMONY THEN HOW CAN I EXPECT OTHERS TO BELIEVE WHAT I SAY ABOUT GOD’S WORD.

     b.) THE HEARERS RESPONSIBILTIY:

Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: [but the word preached did not profit them, (not being mixed with faith) in them that heard it].

IF GOD’S WORD IS NOT MIXED WITH FAITH THEN IT WILL BE OF NO PROFIT TO THOSE THAT HEAR.

Luk 11:28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Joh 13:17  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Ecc 12:13  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: [for this is the whole duty of man].

Amen