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THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
Copyright © 2008 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights ReservedScripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers
The Book of Hebrews is one long exhortation to experienced Christians to press forward in the Lord until they attain to the rest of God. The rest of God is that place where we have ceased our striving and are content to do God’s will in every aspect of our life.
Table of Contents
THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11)
It is my opinion that of all the books of the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews surely is of first rank in terms of being a message directed toward us today.
Now, why is this? It is because the Jewish Christians being addressed were experienced Christians. They had been saved, filled with God’s Spirit, and appear to have been knowledgeable of acts of redemption that probably are past our current understanding and experience. In addition, they had cheerfully borne the confiscation of their property and perhaps suffered other forms of persecution.
Yet, the epistle is one of warning. These Christians now were coasting. They were not pressing forward in the manner of the Apostle Paul. Several times the author told them of the spiritual danger they were in.
Of what were they coming short? They were coming short of the "rest of God."
Today the Christian churches have come as far as basic salvation and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. In some instances we are familiar with Divine healing, and also with some of the gifts of the Spirit. We are much like the Hebrew Christians in this respect.
But, as also was true of the Hebrew Christians, we have stopped pressing forward. We are saved, filled with the Spirit perhaps, and we think these two steps of redemption compose the totality of the Divine works of grace. It appears most or all of our attention and energy are directed toward expanding horizontally—more churches and more members, rather than looking toward the upward calling in Christ.
But what about the "rest of God"? What about attaining to the resurrection, which the Apostle Paul had set as his goal? What about the Church without spot or wrinkle?
We have not as yet reached our Canaan. We still are in the wilderness of temptation. The Spirit of God is inviting us forward toward the land of promise.
Is there a specific mark toward which we are to be pressing? Paul said there is such a mark. Paul spoke of knowing Christ, the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings.
Paul said also that he has been crucified with Christ, and his life now is Christ.
My point is, there are areas of redemption yet ahead of us. Just as our forerunners persevered in prayer until speaking in tongues was restored to the churches, now we must persevere in prayer and obedience until the fullness toward which Paul and the writer of Hebrews pointed has been restored to the churches.
The warnings against settling back before we arrive at the fullness of the rest of God are stern indeed, in the Book of Hebrews. I have not read one recent commentator who treats these warnings straightforwardly, choosing instead to take refuge in the Greek to prove the passages do not mean what they appear to say. However, I have not read all of the recent commentators, so some of them may be more faithful to the passages and contexts of Hebrews.
We can’t change the past, but we certainly can change the future if we will listen to the Holy Spirit and obey the Lord Jesus. There is no doubt in my mind but that Jesus has kept the best wine until now. Some who are alive at this time will be of first rank in the Kingdom of God. The glory of the latter house shall be greater than that of the former.
So let’s approach the Book of Hebrews with the understanding that its message is far stricter than the Gospel currently preached in the United States. Let us count ourselves among those who change their behavior rather than the Scriptures.
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, (Hebrews 1:1)
Religion is man seeking God. The Christian salvation is God seeking man. God actually spoke, taking the initiative, to the Hebrew patriarchs.
When we think of some of the miracles the Hebrews experienced, such as the first Passover, the opening of a way through the Red Sea, the many years in which the daily manna fell to the ground, the holding of the sun in its position so Joshua could wage war, we realize that we Christians have not seen miracles of this power.
My own thought concerning this is that the record of the Old Testament is one vast object lesson worked out in the physical realm so we would understand the abstractions of our spiritual salvation. We can see the two dimensions of the Day of Atonement as we picture the two different ways the Lord’s goat, and the scapegoat, were treated.
One significant difference between the Old Testament account and the New has to do with warfare. There is no account in the Old Testament of a demon being cast out of a person. Yet one of the most noticeable characteristics of the ministry of the Lord Jesus was the casting out of demons. The enemy in the Old Testament was the various tribes living in Canaan. The enemy in the New Testament is Satan and his hordes.
The Israelis are the only race chosen by the Lord, and the land of Israel is the only geographical area chosen by the Lord. We Gentiles have been added to what actually is a Jewish salvation. We have no salvation other than that which originally was given to the Jews, and shall return once again to the Jews when the full number of Gentiles have been grafted on the one true Olive Tree, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our land of promise, as Christians, whether Jewish or Gentile by race, consists of all the works of God’s hands, including the earth and its peoples. All things are ours; we belong to Christ; Christ belongs to God.
God spoke to the Hebrew patriarchs. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles on the original Day of Pentecost. God is speaking to us today.
We need to have deeply ingrained in us that God takes the initiative in building the Kingdom of God. We American Christians are of the opinion that it is up to us with our own plans, money, and talents to build the Kingdom of God. Thus we create confusion.
The task of building the Kingdom of God is the responsibility of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our task is to pray and wait until we know what Jesus wants us to do as an individual. Then we are to be totally obedient, not loving our lives to the point of death.
Only Jesus has seen the Father’s blueprint. Jesus reveals God’s will to us when it is time for us to act, and then He helps us do the will of the Father.
Until there are people who are willing to do what Christ commands, the work of the Kingdom will be at a standstill. I for one want to listen to the Lord and do exactly what He says. How do you feel about this?
But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:2)
It is interesting how often the writers of the New Testament refer to the "last days." If the last days occurred two thousand years ago, where are we now on God’s calendar?
It is interesting also that Christ made all things, and yet inherits them. Isn’t that surprising? Ordinarily when we make something it belongs to us, we don’t inherit it.
I think there is a deep truth here. The Father issued His will and power through the Word, and all things came into being: the heavens, the spiritual creatures, and then the physical world and its inhabitants.
Why would the Word, Christ, then have to inherit them?
Because the Word had to be tested in obedience before the Father would give Him all authority in Heaven and on the earth.
Also, the Word had to redeem us by means of His blood. It was not enough for the Word to be Divine, He had to become a human being and experience what we experience. He had to inherit us in love and fellowship, not just create us and then roar at us from on top of Mount Sinai.
The same is true of us. We may picture ourselves as great emperors ruling the nations with a rod of iron. Not so. If we are to be coheir of the creation with the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to suffer many things. We have to become a servant, a child, or God will not let us touch the peoples He has created. God loves the world; and until the love of God for the world is in us, we will not be able to judge, rule, or guide the nations in any manner.
The Word had to become flesh in order to properly inherit the earth and its people. We, the flesh, have to be changed into the image of the Word if we are to properly inherit the earth and its people.
Jesus Christ, having suffered much, and proven obedient to the Father, has inherited all the works of God’s hands. Before we can be His coheir we also have to suffer much and be proven obedient to the Father. If we suffer we will reign, if we respond to our suffering by obeying God cheerfully.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.(Hebrews 1:3)
It appears to me that the current Christian position concerning the Trinity is slanted too much toward the Father and the Son being the same Person. Without in any manner seeking to remove any of the authority and glory of the Son, let me venture that the Father and the Son are not the same Person.
The above verse describes the relationship perfectly:
The Son is the radiance of God’s Glory.
The Son is the exact representation of God’s Being.
The Son is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven.
If you will look carefully you will notice that none of these four statements suggests Christ and God are the same Person. In fact, the opposite is portrayed clearly.
The Son is the radiance of God’s Glory. There is a difference here between the Son and the One of whom the Son is the radiance.
The Son is the exact representation of God’s Being. If one person is the representation of another person’s being, than we are speaking of two different people no matter how similar in appearance.
The Son is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven. Obviously the Son cannot be seated at His own right hand.
I myself have no problem with understanding the Godhead. It is enough for me that Jesus is God’s Son, God’s Prophet, God’s King, God’s Servant, God’s Priest who makes intercession on our behalf. Jesus always does the will of God and pleases God by His righteous behavior. Therefore God has given Him authority over all the works of God’s hands.
I have no problem with Jesus being God’s Son. Do you? Obviously a father’s son is not the same person as his parent!
Jesus Christ sustains all things by His powerful word. We are speaking of holding up the universe with His Word. What kind of power are we speaking of here? Certainly not power we can even imagine. It is power beyond all power we can comprehend.
The Lord Jesus provided purification for sins. There are two dimensions of the atonement, of the purification. We are familiar with the first dimension of the purification, which is the forgiveness of our sins. However it is the second dimension which is the Kingdom of God. This is the actual purifying of our nature so we no longer are urged to sin. There is forgiveness and then there is the purging from us of our sinful nature. The removal of the sinful nature from us was prefigured by the scapegoat, of the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus.
The work of atonement has not been completed in us until we have been forgiven; all that is of Satan has been destroyed out of us; the eternal moral law of God has been written on our mind and heart; and we know the Lord. This is the complete reconciliation of God to man and man to God. There is the Alpha, and then there is the Omega. We are entering the Omega of salvation in the present hour.
Jesus now is seated at the right hand of His Majesty, the Father. If we have been born again, a firstfruits of our personality, our new born-again person, is seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father. Therefore we should keep our minds and affections directed toward Christ and the Father in Heaven, rather than being so occupied with the affairs of the present world that we have no time or strength left to pray—which so often is the case with American Christians.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? (Hebrews 1:4,5)
The angels are sons of God only in the sense that they were created by God–by the Lord Jesus Christ, in actuality.
The Lord Jesus Christ was not created by the Father. He came forth from the Father in a manner we do not understand. His title, the "Word," gives us the idea that the Father, who is a Spirit, chose to give form to a Person who would be an exact representation of Himself.
But there is another issue here, when we come to the name "Son."
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. (Psalms 2:7)
In the beginning was the Word. The Bible does not say, In the beginning was the Son. It appears at some point the Word became the Son.
God said to the Word, "Today I have become your Father."
What day was this? Perhaps when Christ was born of Mary.
He was called "Son" when He was baptized in water.
And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22)
Notice that God did not say, "He is my Son, whom I love." Rather, God spoke directly to Jesus, for Jesus’ information: "You are my Son, whom I love."
No longer the Word, but the Son. Now He is one of us, isn’t He?
He was proved to be the Son of God by the power of the resurrection.
Christ is the Firstborn from the dead, meaning He is the First of the new creation, the creation that began with His resurrection.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, having been born of the Substance and Nature of God. He is the Son of Man, having been born of Mary. We are sons of man because of our birth from a human being. We also are sons of God, having been born of the Substance and Nature of God.
So we actually are brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ, having been born of the same Father. We are His younger brothers and coheirs with Him.
No angel has ever at any time come forth from the Substance and Nature of God. No angel at any time has ever been born of woman. We who are sons of God have a name greater than any angel.
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God’s angels worship him." (Hebrews 1:6)
"His Firstborn." What does this tell us? It tells us that there are more sons to come.
The "Only begotten" has become the Firstborn
The angels were created by the Word. I do not know if they, after having been created, worshiped the Word. Some of the angels are mighty lords of vast size and intelligence.
Now that the Word has become the Firstborn, something of extreme significance has occurred. A number of the angels have rebelled, being unwilling to worship the Son–in fact, Satan requested that the Son worship him.
Other angels stayed true to God. They worship the Son, recognizing that He is their lawful King and Lord.
It is because of the rebellion of the angels against God’s lawful King that the spirit of usurpation abounds in mankind.
In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire." (Hebrews 1:7)
The angels are not sons, in the sense of having been born of God. They are winds and they are flames of fire. I wonder sometimes if tornadoes and hurricanes are not actually angels, or messengers. When the Lord Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee He spoke as to a person: "Peace. be still."
The contrast here, of course, is that Jesus has the exalted name of "Son." Perhaps the Jewish readers of the Book of Hebrews needed to know Jesus of Nazareth actually is greater than the angels. Maybe they were into the worship of angels. Paul told us not to worship angels, didn’t he?
But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Hebrews 1:8)
Christians have speculated whether Jesus is God or not. We must remember that "God" is a title, not a name. Jesus is God, but He is not the Father. The Father has made Jesus God, and so Jesus is to be worshiped. We do not know the Father’s name. However we do know Jesus’ name. The Father and Jesus are both God, in that they are to be worshiped.
It appears to me that the most vicious attacks of Satan have been in the area of righteousness. Satan has been successful in persuading Christian believers that there is no need for them to behave righteously. They already are righteous through their belief in Christ.
What an error this is! It reveals the consummate cunning of Satan.
When we first are saved, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. But after that the plan of redemption creates righteous behavior in us, if we are cooperating with the Spirit of God.
Where there is no righteous behavior there is no Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the doing of God’s will in the earth, not imputed righteousness!
Righteous behavior is the scepter of the Kingdom of God. A scepter of a king is the emblem of his authority. So it is that righteous behavior is the emblem of Christ’s authority. If Jesus Christ were not righteous in behavior, God would not have given Him all authority in Heaven and upon the earth. God will not work where there is unrighteous behavior. He is a God of righteousness. God exalted Jesus among all the lords of the heavens because Jesus loves righteousness and hates wickedness.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. (Hebrews 1:9)
"Above your companions" could mean above us who are being made His brothers. But since the context has to do with Christ’s superiority to the angels, and since Christ is elevated by being anointed with the oil of joy, I lean toward the idea that God is announcing to Heaven the supremacy of His Firstborn and is exalting Him by anointing Him with joy that the angels do not possess. The Lord Jesus said His joy is to be in us and our joy is to be full. Thus He shares His joy with us, but not with the angels.
God has exalted Christ and made Him Lord of all because He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. If we would have the fullness of joy, and please the Father, then we must love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Satan has stressed imputed righteousness to the point that numerous Christian believers do not understand the purpose of our salvation is to work in us a love of righteousness and a hatred of wickedness. To grow in Christ is to grow in the ability to recognize both good and evil, and to have the desire and strength to embrace the good fervently and to vehemently denounce and renounce that which is evil.
If after a year as a believer in Christ we still are counting on imputed righteousness to save us and are not growing in righteous conduct, then we are not engaging properly in the process of redemption. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, not to forgive the works of the devil.
His scepter is one of righteous behavior and by this He governs. We also, as He makes us new creations of righteous behavior, will govern the nations with the scepter of righteousness. This is the rod of iron of which the Scriptures speak.
He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. (Hebrews 1:10)
We know all things were created by the Word, that is, by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my belief that Jesus in the beginning acted just as He did while He was here on earth two thousand years ago. He worked as the Father worked, He spoke as the Father spoke. It was the Father in Him doing the works.
I may be incorrect about this, but this is how it appears to me. Now we are to be brought into this place in God where Jesus is. We are heirs of the creation that God made through Christ. We are to do nothing of ourselves but to look to Jesus Christ for everything we think, say, and do. Then it will be the Father in Christ in us living and moving and having His Being.
It would have had to be like that in the beginning, wouldn’t it? Certainly the Lord Jesus did not create the earth, the firmament, and all of their creatures apart from the Father! This would make Him a God separate from the Father; and I don’t believe this is the case. Jesus is the Word of the Father, the Expression of the Father’s will, not a separate God..
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." (Hebrews 1:11,12)
In these words the Father is telling the angels as well as mankind that He has put Christ in charge of everything in the universe. The earth and the firmament will be rolled up like a garment, and then God through Christ will speak a new firmament and a new earth into existence.
Jesus Christ is God’s High Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Christ is a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.
To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." (Hebrews 1:13)
Again we see Christ compared to the angels. There certainly must have been many discussions concerning angels at the time the epistle to the Hebrews was written. It must have been true that there were teachers who were maintaining either that Christ was inferior to the angels, or else He Himself was an angel.
Perhaps angels have enemies, I do not know. But God never promised any angel that God would make that angel’s enemies a footstool for its feet. Nor did God call up any angel to sit at God’s right hand.
Using passages from the Old Testament the writer of the Book of Hebrews has pointed out what the Father has said concerning the Son. In no manner is any angel, no matter how exalted, on an equal footing with the Son. All the angels without exception are to worship the Son, confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, having been made so by the Father.
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)
At this point the writer switches from the Heir of salvation to the heirs of salvation. The burden of the writer is that the Hebrews Christians were coming short of their calling in Christ, their inheritance. He begins to express this burden by calling to mind the exalted position of Jesus Christ. Now he is ready to remind his readers of the greatness of their calling and the dangers of neglecting it.
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1)
In the above verse is found the central idea of Hebrews. These experienced saints were not paying enough attention to the program of salvation. They were coming short of the Glory of God. They still were in the wilderness and had forgotten they were not called to the wilderness but to Canaan.
Drifting away! Lack of attention! This is the danger to Christians in the American culture. We have such an array of opportunities that it is difficult to give the attention to Christ that we should.
The greatest spiritual problem in America probably has to do with money. The pursuit of money, and more money, and more money never ends. It is held in front of the American Christians as a tantalizing goal. Those who have thousands in the bank want more thousands. Those who have millions in the bank want more millions. Those who have billions in the bank want more billions.
People start out to make a living, to earn money to buy food, lodging, clothing, and in general to support themselves and their family. But soon the pursuit of the dollar goes beyond this. The result is, there is no time or strength left to be a true disciple of the Lord Jesus.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (I Timothy 6:9)
In addition to falling into many foolish and harmful desires, those who are pursuing money may receive Christ and be saved, may receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit; but then the time and energy required to follow Christ as a disciple does not leave room to pursue riches. Therefore the pursuit of riches must be neglected or the pursuit of Christ must be neglected.
Do you remember how the Lord told the rich young ruler that if he wanted eternal life he would have to sell his possessions and follow the Lord? The young man made the wrong choice, didn’t he, just as so many are tempted to do today. The Gospel requires careful attention. The church is not a club that you attend on Sunday morning and then go about your other business during the remainder of the week.
For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. (Hebrews 2:2,3)
The "message spoken by angels" probably refers to the Law given to Moses.
It is not unusual for Hebrews 2:3 to be preached to unsaved people. It is not unsaved people who are inattentive and neglectful concerning salvation. The writer of Hebrews is addressing seasoned believers who were becoming absorbed in their own business in the world rather than in the Lord Jesus.
We are encountering at this time the first of the several passages that warn believers of carelessly neglecting their salvation, or even of committing willful sin. The warnings are stern and inform the believers of the anguish they are facing if they do not bring forth the fruit of righteousness in their lives.
This is why I stated at the beginning that the Book of Hebrews is especially important in our day. It must be the spirit of humanism that has crept into Gospel preaching; or perhaps it is our desire to have large buildings and large congregations. Whatever our motive is, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been grievously perverted.
We have the doctrine of "eternal security," the idea that once we make a profession of faith in Christ we can never be lost. Decidedly against the Scripture.
We have the doctrine of grace, that no matter how we behave, God sees us as righteous. Definitely unscriptural.
We have the doctrine that no believer will hear anything negative at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Against the Scripture.
We have the doctrine of the "pre-tribulation rapture," that believers are not to suffer. Unrealistic; not historical; and assuredly not scriptural.
We speak of seeker-friendly churches, meaning an individual can come in off the street and feel right at home. The people do not rise up and prophesy until the thoughts of his heart are manifest and he trembles in fear of God. Why not? Because you do not gain members this way—or so the thinking goes.
We must be positive and not negative.
This entire assortment of people-pleasing tactics is far removed from the Bible. We have taken this stand because we want to "win people to Christ." We do not win them to Christ, we win them to ourselves. We are not bearing a true witness of God.
The Book of Hebrews is a perfect medicine guaranteed to return the Gospel to its original state. The question is, how many commentators, preachers, and teachers are willing to present the passages as they have been written? I have never heard or read one who did. But then, there are many preachers I have never heard and many commentaries I have never read.
There shall be a period of reckoning some day, and then we shall see whether or not the Book of Hebrews is the inspired Word of God.
We Christians shall not escape if we do not pay careful attention to the Lord Jesus Christ every day of our life.
"This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him." The Hebrew believers had been taught by those who actually had heard the Lord Jesus in Person. How would you like to have been taught by someone who had been taught by Jesus? This is all the more reason why the lukewarmness and coldness of these Hebrew believers was deplorable and warranted severe warnings.
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:4)
The Hebrew Christians had seen the signs, wonders, and various miracles and gifts that the Holy Spirit had distributed in order to prove the validity of the message of salvation. Thus they were more accountable than other people who had not seen or heard the Gospel to this extent. "From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked"!
It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. (Hebrews 1:5)
Notice that the author is speaking of the world to come. The emphasis today, at least in America, either is on going to Heaven, or on what we can get out of God and Christ to better our condition in the world. The Lord Jesus always helps us when we call upon Him. But the focus of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is just that—the good news that a new world order is coming to the earth.
The Kingdom of God is the doing of God’s will in the earth. The holy city, the new Jerusalem will be located on the earth. When the Lord Jesus appears, He will establish righteousness on the earth. So we are looking for a new world of righteousness. Our hopes and dreams should be focused on the wonderful world of righteousness that is in Heaven, waiting to come to the earth. This is the city that has foundations that Abraham was looking for.
Whenever we try to use the Gospel to enable us to live prosperously on the earth, the Good News loses its true vision. The days ahead in America may be difficult indeed. If our treasures are on the earth, we are going to lose our peace and joy when calamity comes. We may even turn away from the Lord.
But if we are looking, as did Abraham, for the glorious city of righteousness to come to the earth, then we can even suffer martyrdom without being overly concerned. Why should we be in anguish when the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy is at hand? Let us place our treasures in Heaven so when Heaven comes to the earth we will be able to share the joy of the Lord Jesus.
But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Hebrews 2:6)
The author is going to show us that man has the highest destiny in God it is possible to have. Salvation is not a matter of forgiving man so after he dies he can go to the spirit realm, his productive life having come to an end. Rather his forgiveness through the blood atonement and his anointing with the Holy Spirit is to authorize and empower man to take his place on the throne that governs all the works of God’s hands.
This is why to stop pressing forward after being saved and filled with the Spirit is so utterly inappropriate. Such acts of redemption are but the merest beginning of man’s redemption and destiny. He is in the middle of his wilderness wanderings. By no means has he entered the land of promise, the rest that God has prepared for him.
So it is true today. We have been saved. We have been filled with the Spirit. Now it is time to lay hold on the kingdom to which we have been called.
As was true in the days of the Israelites, the cloud of Glory has lifted from the Tabernacle. The trumpets are soundings. The Ark is in the vanguard leading the way. Judah, praise, is lifting up worship to God and going before the host. This is the day of our visitation.
It is so easy, at least in America, to become weighed down with the cares of life.
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (Luke 21:34)
It is not the gross sins of the flesh that will keep many saints from marching forward with the Lord. It is business as usual—buying, selling, building, planting, marrying, giving in marriage. As it was in the days of Noah...
What is man? God did not create man to grub in the earth, bowed down with the problems of eking out an existence. Man has been created to sit at God’s right hand; to judge angels; to be the temple of God; to be the brothers of Jesus Christ; to be the Bride of the Lamb; to be the Body of Christ; to be the heirs of all the works of God’s hands. God has provided all this for us, and is very displeased when we focus on the elements of the world, which are passing away with the using, and do not stretch forth zealously toward our upward calling..
You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:7)
We understand Christ temporarily was made a little lower than the angels. This is true of people. We have been made a little lower than the angels, although one day we are to judge the angels, and they are to minister to us.
We have been crowned with glory and honor, but our honor is not seen as yet. God is bringing us through humility in the present world, just as He did the Lord Jesus Christ. We suffer deferral of our desires and all other kinds of tests and temptations so God may know what is in our heart before He puts us on the thrones that govern the universe.
Perhaps the greatest mistake any believer can make is to clutch the present world, making it the center of his concerns. He does not realize he is in one contrived situation after another so God can find out what is in his heart, whether or not he or she is going to be trustworthy when the true world arrives.
The wise Christian will perform his responsibilities conscientiously in the present world, understanding that it is nothing more than a vestibule of his eternal home. The present world’s significance lies in its use as an obstacle course designed to prepare the sons of the King for their eternal roles.
And put everything under his feet. In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. (Hebrews 2:8)
The above verse indeed is remarkable! When the writer says "putting everything under him, he is referring to "man," to the heirs of salvation.
It is well to keep in mind the author’s argument, which is that the calling on Christians is exceedingly vast. For them to stop after having been filled with the Spirit and having experienced miracles is not in keeping with the grandeur of their calling.
There is so much more for us today! We are to press forward in Christ until every idol has been put beneath our feet.
God is testing us. He wants to see if we are willing to press forward in His grace until we overcome the forces arrayed against us. The spirit of the world seeks to keep us in spiritual darkness. The lusts and passions of our flesh and soul can present a formidable obstacle to our desire to rest in God’s will.
No doubt the most difficult problem is our self-will, our desire to pursue life as we see fit. We may be willing to overcome the idols of the world and those of our flesh, soul, and spirit. But our self-will is another matter. It is obvious self cannot overcome self. So the Holy Spirit puts us in various kinds of prisons and sufferings. The purpose is to see if we will serve God patiently even though we are unhappy.
Everything we cling to except the Lord Jesus Christ is an idol. Christ serves God. We serve Christ. All the creation is under our feet as long as Christ is our Head.
As soon as we place our affections on anything except Christ, the Spirit of God moves to give us dominion over that relationship, circumstance, or thing. We are not competent or eligible to govern as one of God’s royal priests until Christ is our Head and all else is under our feet.
A great portion of our Christian discipleship is occupied with the Lord putting our idols under our feet. This process is about as painful as we make it. If we serve the Lord cheerfully, surrendering all He asks for, then our way is reasonably joyful. But if we cling to anything, a relationship, a circumstance, a thing, there may be considerable pain involved as God seeks to deliver us from this darkness.
The sons of God have been created to rule, not to be ruled by the things of the creation.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)
The Lord Jesus is the Firstborn from the dead, the first of many sons who are the heirs of the Divine salvation. He had to taste death for all the other sons. He had to shed His blood to make an atonement for our sins.
Now He is exalted to an unimaginable extent. He upholds all things of the creation with the Word of His power. He possess all authority in Heaven and upon the earth. No king who has ruled on the earth has had the smallest particle of the majesty God has given the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. This is true of the righteous as well as the unrighteous, angels and people.
Christ was brought very low, and then given the ultimate test in the Garden of Gethsemane. Would He surrender even His fellowship with God in order to obey God perfectly? Jesus passed all His tests perfectly and completely. Now He is Lord of all.
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10)
Here is a marvel. The Word of God from the beginning had to be made perfect through suffering. As I said previously, the earth is a testing ground. Apparently some aspects of the work of perfecting character cannot be accomplished in the spirit realm; otherwise Christ would have come down from Heaven already perfect.
But God is bringing many sons to glory. Think of it! If Christ is to be the Author of our salvation, then He must be the first to pass through the Divine fires, the Divine baptisms.
God perfects us in obedience by bringing us through suffering. We do not enjoy this aspect of redemption. It is a baptism with fire. The higher the rank in the Kingdom to which we have been called, the hotter the flames.
We are wise if we neither fall behind in God’s program for us as an individual, or attempt to push beyond our calling. Slothfulness brings pain and loss of inheritance. Going beyond God’s will in an effort to be of high rank in the Kingdom of God will bring on us suffering we are not able to endure. It is best to press into God’s will for our life and be content with this. Then we will be completely fulfilled. Then we will pass through fires we can endure—although sometimes it seems we are at the limit of our ability to survive spiritually.
If we are called on to endure fiery trials, then we are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. God has determined to trust us with a place of service in His Kingdom. Our suffering is preparing us for that place, that role. We have been created for this very destiny.
Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Hebrews 2:11)
The Lord Jesus makes us holy, by forgiving our sins and also by destroying the sin nature from us. Jesus has been born from God. He is God’s Son. We have been born from the same God. We also are God’s sons. There fore the Lord is not ashamed to call us brothers. In fact, God knew us in advance and has predestined us to be changed into the image of Christ that we might be His brothers.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Sometimes we quote John 1:12 to show that by making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ we now are God’s sons. The truth is, when we place our faith in Christ we receive the authority to be children of God. But it is those who overcome who finally are God’s sons and inherit all the works of God’s hands.
It is not enough to receive the legal authority to be a child of God. We then must follow the Spirit of God as He leads us through the necessary steps to become a mature son of God. Such maturity does not occur merely on the basis of a profession of belief. As Paul said, God predestined us to be changed into the image of Christ. The process of change is protracted, sometimes painful, and requires our steadfast obedience and cooperation
We have the same Father as the Lord Jesus, and so we are brothers in this sense. But then we have to submit to the Father’s discipline, just as the Lord Jesus was made perfect as He obediently subjected Himself to the sufferings through which He was brought by the Father.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)
He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7)
He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me." (Hebrews 2:12,13)
When we sing praises to God, there is Jesus Christ in our midst singing praises to God.
One time I had a vision of this. We were singing praises at a church meeting. Then I had a vision of the Lord. He was seated and I was looking at His left profile. He was in space, like a giant galaxy. As I watched He began to stand up and lift His hands in worship. He turned toward me, and I knew He was going to keep turning until He was facing the Father. He was worshiping the Father along with us.
The Word came to me: "In the midst of the church I will sing praise to thee."
The Lord Jesus Christ trusts God and worships God. He is delighted when His younger brothers and sisters trust and worship God along with Him.
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14,15)
The Lord Jesus Christ created humanity, just as He created everything else. Then God invited Him to pray and ask God that He might inherit the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth.
Now here is a strange thing: why would Christ have to pray to inherit that which He had created? The answer is, it is one matter to create people; it is another matter to inherit people. It is one matter to create the earth; it is another matter to inherit the earth.
The Lord could not inherit the earth and its peoples until He first purchased us with His atoning blood. He had to become Human. He had to destroy Satan. He had to deliver us from the fear of death.
What death is it we fear ordinarily? It is not spiritual death but physical death.
Christian thinking has been so polluted with the ideas of Gnosticism that we do not put nearly enough emphasis on our physical bodies and our physical environment. These were created in the beginning by the Lord who pronounced them "very good."
The Gnostic concept that spirit is good and matter is evil has caused us to discard the idea of the coming of a kingdom to govern a physical earth. The Gnostic concept has caused us to discard the idea of a physical resurrection, or people in physical bodies living on a physical earth. Instead our hope is to go to a spirit heaven and live in a spirit body.
The concepts of Gnosticism are being exposed now to the truth of God’s Word. We see now that we are not saved by holding a certain belief system, and our destination is not the spirit world. We are saved as the Virtue of Jesus Christ, after having forgiven us, transforms us while yet in a physical body so we behave righteously.
Those who cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process of moral change will return with the Lord Jesus, take up their physical bodies from the ground, be clothed with a robe of incorruptible resurrection life, and then work alongside the Lord Jesus installing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
The Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan both occupy the same earth, the same physical bodies. The difference is, the coming of the Kingdom of God drives out Satan and occupies his former dwelling places. The kingdom of the world becomes the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The earth is still very good. The human body is still very good. Everything God has created is very good. How could it be otherwise?
Satan, having been expelled from the spirit world, has come into our inheritance and has defiled it with his presence. Now the Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, has paid the price of redemption with His blood.
Christ owns the earth and mankind as well. The price of redemption has been paid in full. However, Satan is not willing to surrender that which no longer belongs to him. So Christ is coming to take His purchased possession with force. Christ will govern with the iron scepter of righteousness. All who prove their worth in spiritual conflict with return with Him and help in the task of cleansing the earth of every vestige of Satan. This is the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish Day of Atonement—the Day when the creation is reconciled to God.
Only Jesus Christ has the strength of righteousness sufficient to drive Satan from his stolen dwelling places. He is the great Elder Brother who is making it possible for the rest of us to inherit the works of God along with Himself.
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. (Hebrews 2:16)
Again we are comparing angels and people. The worship of angels, or at least a reverence for angels, must have been strong among the Jews of that day. As part of the writer’s effort to prove people who merely have been forgiven and filled with the Spirit of God have only scratched the surface of God’s plan for man, he had to make sure they understood the superiority of Christ over the angels—that they have been charged with ministering to the heirs of salvation.
It appears to me that the history of the world reveals a spirit of jealousy, of seeking to enslave others, of desiring preeminence, of supplanting, of a willingness to take credit for that which rightfully belongs to another. This spirit possibly may come from angels who are not pleased with the idea of Christ and His fellow human beings replacing angels in the highest places of rulership and judgment. This may be why the Holy Spirit keeps impressing the writer of Hebrews to emphasize that God has turned over all judgment, all rulership, to His Son, Jesus Christ, and to those who choose to be part of Christ.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, the first Overcomer being the Lord Jesus, followed then by a train of diligent, obedient disciples.
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17)
"Made like His brothers in every way." What a statement!
Why made like His brothers in every way? So He would be able to serve as a merciful and faithful High Priest, bringing us before God continually. Also, that He might be able to make an atonement for us by representing us on the cross.
When God invited the Lord to ask for the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth, this is what God had in mind—that our Creator would have to be made like us in every way, serve as our High Priest, and make an atonement for our sins.
There can be no greater spectacle in all of history than that of Joseph and Mary bringing into the Temple the thundering God of Sinai in the form of a helpless Baby. Can you think of another event as overwhelmingly dramatic as this?
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)
How could we relate to Christ if He had not suffered in the same manner as ourselves? How could He help us if He did not understand our temptations? Here is another reason why our Creator could not inherit us until the all-wise God had brought Christ through the required experiences.
You can’t roar at people from the top of Sinai and expect them to love you. And until they love you, you have not inherited them. Dictators force people to do their will. But they do not have the hearts of the people, so in actuality they have gained nothing of value. It is love that is the supreme value, the supreme joy. Only as people love you, and you love them, do you inherit them.
The Father understood this clearly. I do not know if the Son understood at that time the importance of love quite as clearly as He does now. The Son had to be brought through an unutterably horrible experience in order to gain His inheritance. Now He worships the Father and trusts Him, just as we are learning to do.
Jesus said God alone is good. This is irrefutably true. It also is true that God alone is wise.
When God invites us to pray for something, as He invited Jesus, as described in the second Psalm, you can be certain no matter what pain is encountered along the way, if we will pray the prayer that God suggests to us we will gain everything of value.
But if we try to force our own way with God, saying "not Your will but mine be done," we will end up in a dry land, wishing remorsefully that we had trusted in the goodness and love of God.
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. (Hebrews 3:1)
The above verse is important to note. Sometimes there are parts of the Book of Hebrews that preachers direct toward the unsaved, not being willing to admit that God would rebuke Christians for their unfaithfulness, such as:
How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. (Hebrews 2:3)
The above verse is not a warning to the unsaved but to the holy brothers who share in the heavenly calling.
We truly are remiss in our day. We are not permitting the believers, in many instances, to feel the weight of the rebukes in the New Testament. From what I hear around the country, the churches are drying up. And it is no wonder? We are not preaching the Word, but "grace-rapture-Heaven," and then aberrations such as the "prosperity" and "faith" messages.
We need to return to teaching what the New Testament says, rebukes as well as blessings. Until we do, it is useless for God to pour out His Spirit. After the anointing lifts we will be back in the same old unscriptural foolishness.
The Book of Hebrews is a stern rebuke to Christian people who were neglecting to press forward to the fullness of God’s will. We need to accept these rebukes fully and completely, and not water them down by applying them to the unsaved or by saying the people being rebuked in this epistle never were true Christians in the first place.
Today we need to fix our thoughts on Jesus, God’s Apostle and High Priest. We need to hear what He is saying to His churches today: "Those whom I love I rebuke and chasten. So be earnest, and repent."
He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. (Hebrews 3:2)
Christ was, is, and always shall be faithful to the Father. If we are to govern with Christ, we must be faithful as He is faithful. As He is, so are we to be in this present world. We are to abide with Him where He is: that is, in the very Center of God’s Holy Person and will.
Faithfulness is an essential component of integrity. Integrity is an unshakeable determination to do what is right regardless of the consequences to ourselves. Faithfulness is not valued in America today as much as it was in time past. Therefore our nation is facing Divine judgment.
God insists on absolute faithfulness in His people. There is to be no breaking of promises or covenants. We are to say what we mean, and stand by our word. If we find this difficult, God will help us if we ask Him.
Jesus Christ went through exceedingly difficult and painful situations as He continued to be faithful to the Father. But today He is at the right hand of God with all power in Heaven and on the earth. So will be the case with us if we do not shrink from doing what Christ is directing us to do.
If we are faithful to God, God will be faithful to us. If we are devious with God, God will be devious with us (Psalms, Eighteen).
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. (Hebrews 3:3-6)
It may have been difficult for the Christian Jews to believe that Jesus actually was worthy of greater honor than Moses. The idea is that Moses was a servant in the house of God; but Jesus was the builder of the house, as well as a Son responsible for His Father’s house, and therefore is worthy of greater honor than Moses.
Now notice especially: "We are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast."
Because we of today love ourselves more than we love God, we have invented doctrines such as "eternal security"; "unconditional love"; salvation whether or not we bear the fruit of the moral image of Christ.
But the passage above says that salvation is conditional, the condition being that we "hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." We are part of the house of God provided we endure to the end. You can see from this how unscriptural the current teaching is.
We are to maintain our courage and our hope to the last day of our life on the earth. Courage is needed because of the threats of the enemy. Hope is needed because we can go for many years, patiently plodding along, without seeing any evidence that we really are accomplishing anything. Hope keeps us going long after our faith begins to diminish.
Numerous people who make a profession of faith in Christ become discouraged and go back into the world. This is not uncommon. According to the Word of God, we are part of the house of God only as long as we keep pressing forward courageously and hopefully.
Today’s newspaper tells of a Muslim man who changed from his religion to faith in Christ. His body was sent back to his family after having been cut into four pieces. This is what we may be up against in the future. Will we be able to stand?
The unscriptural "rapture" will come too late for this man and his family, won’t it?
So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice," (Hebrews 3:7)
Salvation always is "today." There is no salvation yesterday or tomorrow, only today.
You hear people speaking of being saved ten years ago, for example. They may have been saved at some point ten years ago, but that says little or nothing about today.
Yesterday’s manna is not edible. It smells bad. All that matters is whether you are interacting with the Lord Jesus today. Today is the day of salvation. Right now we must be speaking to the Lord; listening to the Lord; obeying the Lord. Only then do we have eternal life.
Our goal is not Heaven. Our goal is to be found in Christ. When the Lord returns, the dead in Christ will be raised. This means those—and only those—who are living in Jesus will be raised at His coming.
As I have stated on several occasions, we have made a ticket of salvation. We think we purchased our ticket at a specific time and now we have entrance to Heaven. This is not a true perception of salvation.
Salvation, eternal life, is a moment by moment walk with the Lord Jesus. It has little to do with our "Statement of Faith." A statement of faith is nothing more than a theological position. Theological positions do not save people, only a moment by moment walk with the Lord Jesus is salvation and eternal life.
We have millions of American Christians who are "holding their ticket." They come to church on Sunday. They may even work at some task in the church. But they are not living in Jesus. They are not aware of His Presence and will, from the moment they wake up in the morning until they go to bed at night.
Their minds are on making money, or on the television or some other form of entertainment, or on their hobbies, or on their cars or homes, or on their vacations. It is quite difficult in the United States of America to live in Christ. It is possible; but only the most determined are able to escape the clutches of our culture and live in the Lord Jesus.
God and Satan are immensely practical. They both deal with the "now," understanding the tendency of human beings to live in the past or the future.
Today—and only today—is the Day of salvation.
Do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, Where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways." (Hebrews 3:8-10)
The writer is reminding the Christian Jews of the disobedience and rebellion of the Israelites during their journey from Egypt to Canaan. Why is he bringing these episodes to their attention?
It is because the journey of the Israelites is an illustration of the program of salvation. We do not jump from Egypt to Canaan. There is a long, hot journey filled with all sorts of tests before we attain to the mark set before us.
The Jews tested God by complaining continually about their hardships. The writer is telling us to beware of hardening our hearts in a similar fashion.
God’s response to the Israelites, and to us as well if we grumble and complain, is: "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways."
We have had so much pap fed to us as being the word of God that we do not realize God’s severity. We have had love, love, love preached to us but not wrath, wrath, wrath. God is love. God also is a consuming fire. When we preach only love and not the consuming fire we are bearing a false witness of God. The blood of the sinners will be on our hands if we do not warn the wicked of the destruction that is coming.
Who could describe the scope of God’s love? Who could describe the scope of God’s wrath? Let us be scriptural when we bear witness of almighty God!
The hearts of God’s people went astray in the days of Stephen, the martyr, and they did not know God’s ways. Are our hearts astray today? Do we really know God’s ways, or just the humanistic, Gnostic lies that term themselves the Christian Gospel?
So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest." (Hebrews 3:11)
Here is the first mention of the mark set forth by the writer of the Book of Hebrews as the goal toward which believers are to press. I don’t believe I have ever heard a sermon on the "rest of God." Have you?
In terms of the journey of the Israelites, the "rest" was Canaan, the land of promise. But what is the "rest," the goal, that toward which we are to be pressing?
Our rest is God’s rest and God’s rest is our rest.
The rest of God, which we are to enter, has to do with God’s cessation of work after six days. Everything has been finished through to the new Jerusalem. Our task is to cease from our own works and enter God’s rest.
To enter that place in God where God can find rest in us and we can find rest in God we have to overcome everything that would cause us to think, speak, or act outside of God’s perfect will. We have to overcome our love of the world, the lusts and passions of our flesh and soul, and our self-will and personal ambition.
We have to labor to enter this rest.
We may have placed our faith in the blood atonement; but this does not mean we are living in the center of God’s Person and will. Christian people often show forth in their behavior the sinful nature.
We may have been baptized with the Holy Spirit; but this does not mean we are living in the center of God’s Persons and will. Pentecostal people often show forth in their behavior the sinful nature. Many are self-willed gossips who cause contention within the churches.
This is why the writer of Hebrews is telling the saints, the holy brothers, they have unpacked too quickly. They are not as yet in the land of promise. There is a great deal of ground to cover before God can find rest in them and they can find rest in God.
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)
Is it possible for a holy brother, a saint, to have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God? Absolutely! Unless such a one repents and turns back to the Lord, he is not part of the house of God. God will chasten him. If he still does not repent, he may become sick, or even die. Or, he may be removed as a branch and thrown into the fire. This is serious business!
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:13)
"Encourage one another daily"! This suggests to me that the Hebrew Christians were in close contact with one another. We of today can be in close contact with one another by telephone. We can choose to encourage one another, or gossip, it is up to us to decide. I would think the larger churches of today would have to provide some sort of means to insure that those who attend do not remain anonymous but are in touch with others who encourage them. The Christian discipleship can become discouraging, and sometimes a word of encouragement from a believer can be critically helpful.
In our assembly we are seeking to obey this command by means of a mentoring program, in which mentors are trained and then assigned to specific people.
"Hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." This is the problem with sin. If it were glaringly obvious it would not be nearly as dangerous as it is.
When we are not careful to pray every day, to read our Bible every day, to gather with fervent disciples on a regular basis, sin begins to make inroads on us. We do not realize it. We do not feel any different. But little by little our spiritual strength is eroded.
The first sign that darkness is overcoming our eternal life, of our hardening, is anger against people in the church. As soon as we find ourselves being critical and angry with our fellow Christians we know Satan has found a door in us. We then must ask God to forgive us for growing careless, and return to diligent prayer, Bible reading, and fellowshiping with godly people.
It is our personal cross that protects us against deception. It is when we let down our guard and begin to relax in the world that Satan is able to gain a foothold in our personality.
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (Hebrews 3:14)
As I said, salvation is not a ticket to Heaven. We will maintain our position in Jesus Christ only as long as we continue in our fervent discipleship, holding firmly to the end of our life the joy and confidence we experienced when we first received Christ. Apparently there was a clear danger that the Hebrew saints were wavering and turning back to their business in the world.
As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:15)
Right now the Lord Jesus is speaking to His churches in America, and perhaps throughout the world. He is telling us to confess our sins and turn away from them. He desires to enter us in a manner greater than we have known to this point.
We do not know of what is taking place behind closed doors. Witchcraft is on the rise. Young people are worshiping Satan. Some are attempting to be vampires, if you can believe this. The doctrine of freedom of speech, incorporated in the American Constitution, is permitting all sorts of communication that invites participation in the most ungodly, violent, satanic actions imaginable.
We can ignore what the Spirit is saying to the churches in the present hour. We can harden our hearts, claiming that God is required to bring us to Heaven because we have made a profession of belief in the "Statement of :Faith" of our denomination. Meanwhile the tide of evil is rising.
The day of three points and a conclusion from behind the pulpit is past. We must have the most intense worship and interaction in the assembly that are possible to us. We must preach and teach God’s Word instead of the current traditions.
The Lord stands at the door and knocks. We simply must open and dine with Him continually: He dines on our obedience and worship; we on His body and blood.
We absolutely must begin to obey the commandments found in the New Testament, from Matthew through Revelation. Satan has talked us out of keeping the commandments, saying we are saved by grace so there is no need to do what the New Testament commands. We have been deceived grievously. If we are to save ourselves and our loved ones, and perhaps even our nation, we must humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways.
Are we Christians of today going to harden our hearts against the Spirit until destruction comes upon us?
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? (Hebrews 3:16)
The point is, it was the people who were saved out of Egypt who rebelled. It was not the Amorites, the Ammonites, or the Moabites. It was the people who came out Egypt, having escaped destruction by putting the blood of the Passover on their doorposts.
In like manner, it is not the homosexuals, the rapists, the abortionists, who are in danger of hearing and rebelling. It is God’s people. These are the ones who have to take care that they do not neglect their salvation.
And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? (Hebrews 3:17,18)
Having marched out of Egypt so gloriously, the Israelites disobeyed and disbelieved the Lord. The writer of Hebrews is showing that even though we have started with Christ, we will not reach our goal of the fullness of Christ because of our disobedience and unbelief.
We do not accept this idea in the present hour. We believe we are saved by grace and all receive the same reward. Receiving all God has for us is a matter of grace, not of our belief or obedience. Isn’t that what we are hearing?
Well, the Book of Hebrews tells us differently. It warns us clearly that after having been saved we can die in the wilderness without ever having pressed through to the inheritance Christ has for us.
In this part of the third chapter, disobedience and unbelief are treated synonymously. This shows us that if we say we believe in Christ, but do not obey Christ, we are deceiving ourselves. True belief always will result in obedience to Christ. If we are not obedient to Christ it is because what we have is nothing more than a mental assent to theological facts. It is not the faith that saves.
So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:19)
They were saved out of Egypt, but they died before entering the land of promise.
The Apostle Paul is our example. Toward the end of Paul’s life he was laying aside everything that he might gain Christ. Think of it. That he might gain Christ!
Paul was pressing forward, pressing forward, pressing forward at all times and in every conceivable manner that he might come to know the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
Paul’s goal was to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
We have not understood what Paul meant by this because we do not realize, many of us, that there are two resurrections from the dead. There is the first resurrection, which will take place when the Lord returns. Then there will be the general resurrection from the dead, which will take place at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
The general resurrection includes all of the people who have ever lived on the earth, with the exception of those who attained to the first resurrection.
The first resurrection is that of the victorious saints. This resurrection must be attained to by following the example of the Apostle Paul. Paul was striving to enter the rest of God, that position in Christ where we are dwelling in the very Center of God’s Person and will. This is where the Lord Jesus always is, and He is in the process of taking us to be with Him where He is.
The third chapter of the Book of Colossians informs us that we now are at the right hand of God in Jesus Christ. Then Colossians states that Christ will return with those whose life He is. How many Christians do you know who are living by the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ? These are the saints who will return with the Lord and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.
It is my point of view that the promises to the overcomer, of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, are steps to the first resurrection of the dead. The promises begin with access to the Tree of Life and end with our sitting with Christ on His throne as He sits with the Father on the Father’s throne.
"You have a few names in Sardis," the Lord declared. Only a few of the professing Christians in Sardis have prepared themselves to wear the white robe of the royal priesthood. Of the entire Church in Sardis, only a few of the saints will return with the Lord and help with the setting up of His Kingdom on the earth.
I do not know how many of today’s Christians will return with Christ, be raised from the dead, and then ascend to meet Him in the air. It may be true that there have been many in past time who have qualified. Yet the Lord told us many who are last shall be first; so I am assuming that mighty men and women of faith will be raised up in the day in which we are living.
We ought to know from what Paul said in Philippians that consecration far surpassing what is normal today is required if we are to attain to the first resurrection. Somehow Paul’s statements have been ignored. It is not a good idea to ignore the Word of God, is it?
Numerous Israelites who were saved out of Egypt, a strong type of our salvation in Christ, never made it to the land of promise. The writer of the Book of Hebrews is informing us that we will not attain to the fullness that God has for us unless we address ourselves to the task more fervently than often is the case in America.
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. (Hebrews 4:1)
If there is one verse that comes the closest to summing up the concern of the writer of Hebrews, the above probably is it.
"The promise of entering His rest still stands." This means the Land of Promise the "rest" of God prior to the Christian Era, is a symbol of a spiritual reality. There remains a rest for the Lord’s elect; but the geographical area of Canaan is not it. There is a goal, a mark set before the Christian. If we do not keep on pressing forward in Christ we shall fall short of it.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (Hebrews 4:2)
If I am understanding correctly what is written here, it sounds as though the writer is referring to God’s Word to the Israelites as "the gospel." I am in agreement with this. The philosophy of Dispensationalism, which to my mind is totally unscriptural and destructive in its impact, has cut off from us God’s work with the Israelites. Personally I see the Scriptures as one seamless robe of Christ. The new covenant was promised by the Hebrew Prophets and is made only with the House of Israel. In order to partake of the salvation available under the new covenant we have to become part of the House of Israel through the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is only one elect of God, one royal priesthood, one chosen people. The royal priesthood began with the Jews, and the same priesthood has been extended to Gentiles whom the Lord has called. The priesthood shall return to the Jews as soon as the full number of Gentiles have been added to the one Olive Tree.
The New Testament flows out of the Old and is an integral part of the Old. In fact, there only is one Bible. From Genesis through Revelation it is one Bible written by one Holy Spirit of God.
So yes—the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was preached to the Jews, although in a physical setting. The same Gospel coming from the same Holy Spirit is being preached to us, although in a spiritual setting.
Some of the Israelites of that day did not combine God’s Word with faith, and so it was of no value to them. The same is true of us if we do not combine God’s Word with faith. By "us" I do not mean the unsaved but the holy brothers, the saints.
Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. (Hebrews 4:3)
The foundation of the rest of God is the fact that God, at the time of the creation, finished His work. The elect were chosen; the world was designed; history was planned through to the coming down of the holy city through the new sky. All was completed in God’s vision; His Word began the work; and God rested.
All that God asks of any individual is to enter God’s rest.
Now, why don’t we all just enter the rest of God and be done with it? It is because of the enemies that are resisting us at every turn.
One enemy is the Antichrist spirit that is in the world. This spirit does not want us resting in God’s plan for us. The spirit of the world wants us to spend our days seeking to acquire money and material possessions. The Antichrist spirit wants to put our spiritual eyes and set us to work grinding at the world’s mill, just as the Philistines put out Samson’s eyes and set him to work grinding in the prison.
The lusts and passions of our body, soul, and spirit insist that we serve them, not God. They would not have us rest in God’s will but to seek constantly to satisfy our appetites and desires. Whoever would enter God’s rest must overcome these passions.
Our greatest enemy is our self-will. It is difficult for us to just "let go and let God." We are bent on accomplishing some purpose that we have in mind.
In the American culture, ambition is admired. But God does not always admire our desire to achieve our objectives. In order to abide in His rest we have to let go of our personal ambitions and rest in God’s will for our life.
God may have us achieve some outstanding work, but He is not impressed by our fame. God cares about faithfulness and rewards faithfulness. If we are to enter God’s rest we must be content in small things and great things. None of them matter in any case, except as God’s will is done.
So the moment we decide to rest in God’s Person and will these three enemies confront us: the spirit of the world; our sinful nature; and our desire to act according to our own will. Believe me, for many of us, considerable prayer and experience are required if we are to make a success of entering God’s rest and maintaining our position there.
We can see readily that our faith worked out in our obedience is the key to attaining to the goal that God has set before us. We overcome those forces that stand against us by a steadfast faith in God, who has called us out of the world that we might fulfill all His purposes in Jesus Christ.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. (Hebrews 4:4-6)
Genesis declares that on the seventh day God rested from all his work. Then in the ninety-fifth Psalm, God said “they shall never enter my rest. “ referring to Canaan. Because the Israelites, to whom the Gospel originally was preached, were not permitted to enter God’s rest, there remains therefore a rest that is yet to be entered.
They were disobedient and did not believe. So the writer of Hebrews is telling his readers that the rest still is available, but we must press forward in faith and obedience.
Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7)
When God said the above, setting a certain day, many years after the time of Joshua, it becomes clear that God has in mind a rest that is not the rest of Canaan.
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; (Hebrews 4:8,9)
But precisely what is this rest toward which the writer is pointing? Why are we hearing more about it today?
I probably will keep repeating myself concerning the definition of the "rest of God." It is nothing more than abiding in Christ. That’s all. No big mystery. Whoever is content to remain in Christ, overcoming his sins as the Holy Spirit points them out, is dwelling in the rest of God.
There is a rest that is the way, and then the rest that is the goal.
The rest that is the way is, as I said, abiding in Christ and overcoming our sins as the Holy Spirit points them out. The rest that is the goal is our eternal position in Christ in God. All of our enemies have been put beneath our feet by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have been filled with the fullness of God for eternity. We are living by the Life of Jesus Christ, our spirit, soul, and body filled with eternal, incorruptible resurrection life. This is the rest that is the goal. The rest that is the way brings us finally and eternally to the rest that is the goal.
We are hearing more about the rest of God today because we are at that place on God’s timetable when the Lord is ready to bring us into the spiritual land of promise, into the place of God’s rest and our rest in God.
All that has gone before in the history of the world has taken place in order to bring God’s Church, His elect, to the place where God can dwell in them and they in God. I suspect there have been individuals in time past who have pressed through to the fullness of God. But now God is calling a larger group of people to inherit the Kingdom.
Because it is time to move past the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Pentecost to the spiritual fulfillment of the celebration of Tabernacles, verses are being opened up to us that had not been emphasized previously. A good example is the discussion in Hebrews of the rest of God. We have not been aware of it until the present hour, in many instances.
As we see the moral depravity increasing in the world, including the worship of Satan, we understand if we are to stand in victory in Christ we need more than basic forgiveness and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. We need a fullness of God we have not experienced before. And God, knowing that sin would increase in the last days, has prepared a greater portion of Himself to be given to us as the need arises.
Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world, meaning that Christ, the Truth, is in us enabling us to overcome the lies of Antichrist. When we are serving God with our whole heart, our snake will always be able to swallow the snakes of the enemy. The Truth that is in us will overcome the great lie that the world spirit is.
Abiding contentedly in Christ, in the center of God’s Person and will, is the Sabbath-rest God has provided for us. The seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments is the forerunner of the eternal rest in which we dwell in God and do not perform our own work at any time, not just one day of the seven
For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:10)
In six days, whether literal or symbolic, God created all things through to the new heaven and earth reign of Jesus Christ. Everything has been finished, including our individual role in the Kingdom of God. Since this is a fact, our life should not consist of our efforts to create our own life but to find out what God has planned for us. Does this make sense to you?
As long as we are striving to fulfill our own plans we are misdirecting our energy. Everything has been finished in six days. Since none of us knows anything at all, actually, including what will bring us lasting joy, we ought to try to find out what God wants of us. Where do we fit in His plan? What does He want us to do?
To give up trying to direct our own life and to look to Jesus Christ each moment of each day is to enter the rest of God.
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:11)
When we do not place God’s will in first place in our life we are disobedient children. We are guilty of not believing God’s will and way are the path we should follow. The writer is warning us that we will fall from our position in God if we follow the example of the Jews in the wilderness, and walk in disobedience and unbelief.
We have to make every effort to enter that rest of abiding in Christ because of the powers of darkness that seek night and day to prevent us from resting in the will and love of God.
The enemy always is saying we can’t do God’s will because it is too hard; or, no one is doing it; or, it doesn’t really matter if we find God’s will because we are saved by grace; or, our life will be miserable if we do God’s will. Satan lost his position in Heaven around the throne of God because of his disobedience and unbelief. He desires that you and I also will disobey God and lose our inheritance.
Because there are many forces seeking to prevent our resting in God’s will, we have to make every effort. We have to be totally diligent at every minute of every day. A few days of neglecting prayer and Bible reading can make it possible for Satan to deceive us in some manner, the result being that we no longer are doing God’s will.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
As I attempt to understand the train of thought of the writer of Hebrews, I do not see how the above verse is related to the general thought of failing to press forward to complete victory in God. It seems as though he has let that topic go for now and is reminding his readers of the fact that God sees and knows everything and His Word penetrates our innermost being. God knows they are becoming careless.
There is one thought, however, that links the above verse to the discussion concerning the rest of God. It is that in order to enter the rest, the Word of God must penetrate every particle of our personality in order to root out and destroy every enemy, every area of darkness, every idol or motive that would attempt to divert us from our perfect rest in God’s will.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
Perhaps the author had gained the impression that these Jewish believers thought God did not know or did not care what they were doing. Careless Christians and wicked people hope God does not know what they are doing; that somehow everything will remain hidden or be overlooked. People whose hearts are not right with God do not enjoy keeping in remembrance the idea that God knows all about them and someday they are going to have to give an account for the things they have done.
Perhaps this is why the "grace" teaching is so popular among American Christians. "Hopefully we will hear nothing negative at the Judgment Seat of Christ."
Those who emphasize the foolish hypothesis of evolution do so in the hope there is no God to whom they will have to give account.
But those who love God run to Him at all times that He may examine all they are doing and pass judgment on it. God will search them and test them to see if there is any wickedness in them. They love God’s fiery Presence. Do you? I know I do. The more God knows about what I am doing the better I like it. May the sword of His Word ever judge the thoughts and attitudes of my heart!
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. (Hebrews 4:14)
How much greater than Aaron is the Lord Jesus Christ, a priest after the order of Melchizedek, without beginning of days or end of life—a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. He is the One who is representing us before the Father. Because of this we ought never to be discouraged but press forward in confidence until we have attained to that to which God has called us.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Our great High Priest sympathizes with our weaknesses because He has experienced the same temptations that we have. Yet being of the Divine Nature, not having inherited the sinful nature of the adamic lineage, being filled with the Holy Spirit, He was able to live in this world for thirty-three years without having sinned one time.
Because Christ kept the Law of Moses perfectly, and then paid the penalty as though He had broken the Law of Moses, He is able to transfer His righteousness to us so it is as though we ourselves had kept the Law of Moses perfectly. Therefore we can proceed, without guilt, to follow the Holy Spirit as the Spirit enables us to put to death the actions of our sinful nature.
We are not forgiven so we can go to Heaven, as is taught today. We are forgiven so we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He removes the sinful nature from us. This is what we must come to understand today.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
It is taught today that we cannot keep the commandments set forth in the New Testament. They are there for the sole purpose of showing us we can’t possibly keep them and therefore must be saved by grace.
This concept is totally destructive of God’s purposes under the new covenant.
It is true that the natural man in his own strength cannot keep the commands given us by Christ and His Apostles. But we have been born again. We have the Holy Spirit of God. We are being nourished by the body and blood of Christ. We can confess our sins and know God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Besides all this, we can go past the heavenly veil and approach God that we may receive mercy and grace. Then we indeed are able to keep all we have been commanded. Meanwhile Christ is faithfully making intercession for us.
We now are in the twenty-first century. For two thousand years the Christian churches, no doubt with numerous exceptions, have labored under the delusion that the Gospel of Jesus Christ primarily is one of forgiveness. Man is doomed to sin and there is nothing God can do about it except forgive him repeatedly.
"Lord forgive us for what we should not have done, and for not doing what we should have done." This is about as far as we have gotten in two thousand years.
Well, we are in a new day, the day of the victorious saint. We know now, from passages that always have been in the New Testament, that God has given us a new covenant so we can actually do what He has commanded.
Perhaps the time has come. Perhaps the great High Priest is rising to His feet, as I saw one time in vision. Perhaps the hour has arrived for the Father to make Christ’s enemies His footstool.
Whether or not this is the case, I do know there is power in Jesus Christ to enable us to overcome every sin. We do not become sinless overnight. We are not speaking of some unscriptural experience that removes our sinful nature root and branch. If there is such an experience I do not know of it. Do you?
Rather I am speaking of our daily walk with Jesus Christ. As we seek His face constantly He reveals the sinful thoughts and intents of our heart. As He does we confess, denounce, and renounce them. Then we pray that God will strengthen us so we never, never, never behave in this manner again.
This procedure is effective. Try it and you will see. Little by little the graveclothes will be removed from you. It is an eternal judgment against Satan.
You can see at once that this procedure is totally different from the idea that we are unable to do what God has commanded and therefore must be saved by grace (repeatedly forgiven).
As I said, I am not certain Christ actually has risen to His feet and God has begun to fulfill His promise that He would put all the enemies of Christ under His feet. But I do know the above procedure certainly works and is scriptural.
Why Christians in time past have not adopted and practiced what is presented so clearly in God’s Word I do not know. But I do know the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that we are to confess our sins and look to God for help in being totally delivered from them.
I think we mistakenly view our sinful nature as some bottomless well of corruption in our personality that never could be removed. This is not the case. Our sinful nature is a finite collection of bondages that can be removed one at a time until we are free.
At the present time in America we are immersed in a sea of demonic influences. Filthy thoughts pass through our minds all the time. These thoughts are not sin. Sin occurs when we actually do something of which we are ashamed.
There is no sinful bondage—not one—that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot break. He has the authority and the power. But we have to ask, ask, ask, ask as our discipleship progresses. This is all God requires—that we keep on asking; keep on seeking.
The point is, victory will come. It is not an open-ended, never-get-there kind of striving. Rather it is one definite victory after another. And there is an end in sight.
I feel certain many Christians will take advantage of what the Spirit is offering today. Perhaps others will be so involved in the American way of life they will not take the time to pursue the life of victory.
But I will say one thing: the rewards we normally associate with being a Christian will go only to those who live in victory over sin. If the number of victorious saints should prove to be only a small fraction of the believers, it makes no difference. Those who overcome sin through Christ will be raised when He appears. Those who chose not to be so diligent will not be raised when the Lord appears. This is because the purpose for the appearing of the Lord is to install His Kingdom on the earth.
Those who were too busy, or too disobedient, or too unbelieving, to gain victory through Jesus Christ, would be of no help in installing Christ’s Kingdom on the earth; just as they are of no help today but only weaken the hands of the "men of war."
The Veil has been rent. The way to the very heart of God is open to whoever will take the trouble to pray. What more can God do to help us gain victory over sin that He has not already done?
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. (Hebrews 5:1)
The purpose of a priest is to represent people before God. How wonderful it is that our High Priest is the Son of God, the One who purchased us with His own blood. He always is interceding for us in the Presence of God, while Satan is accusing us.
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 5:2,3)
Priests who are mere humans are sinners themselves. During the Day of Atonement, before an atonement could be made for the people, the priest had to offer a bull to make an atonement for his own sins. He had to do this every year because of his own sinful nature.
No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. (Hebrews 5:4)
I think there is a valuable thought here for us. In Romans we read, concerning the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit, that we should regard ourselves soberly in terms of the degree of faith God has given us. It seems to me we are not always wise when we challenge people to "do great things for God." We are inviting presumption.
The gifts and ministries are not "up for grabs," as we say. It is absolutely true that the Apostle Paul told us to covet earnestly the best gifts. This we must and should do. But coveting a gift is one matter. Proceeding to go forth as though we had the gift or ministry is another matter.
The Holy Spirit is the one who assigns gifts and ministries according to His own will. Our first task is to present our body a living sacrifice until we have proved the will of God for our own life. Every member of the Body of Christ is given a gift or ministry by the Spirit of God. It is up to us to find out what it is and to use it. Otherwise we will be guilty of burying our talent.
Presumption has no place among God’s ministers. Under the Law of Moses, no individual could decide to be a priest or a Levite. These offices depended on the family into which he was born. God was very strict concerning the privileges the priests had and the privileges the Levites had.
So it is today. We cannot assume we have a particular gift or ministry. It is up to the Holy Spirit to assign to us our function in the Body of Christ. Every member of the Body has a role, and he or she is required to seek God until he or she begins to serve in that role.
When I was first saved I was in the Marine Corps. We used to meet every night, while stationed in Japan, and the men would take turns giving the message.
When my turn came, I would maintain that no one should preach unless he was called. I do not know where I got this idea as a young Christian.
One night I entered the Japanese wooden barracks before anyone else came to the meeting. As I was praying the Presence of the Lord came into the room. His Presence became increasingly powerful. I said, "Do you want me to preach?"
No voice answered. But there was an overwhelming sense that this was what the visitation was all about.
That night, when everyone came in, I said, "The Lord just called me to preach." The leader of the group said, "It is your turn tomorrow night."
The following night I preached for the first time in my life. As I remember, the text was from First John. That was fifty-nine years ago.
I know the Lord has called me to preach and teach the Bible. This is my role, and I know it. May God help me to be faithful in it as long as I am alive.
All of my ministry has been rooted in prayer. I know the reason I am a pastor today is that I continued to pray, even though the Lord led me into public education for quite a few years. When the time came for me to enter full-time ministry, I had been praying every day and both Audrey and I knew the Lord was speaking.
We left everything and entered full-time ministry twenty-seven years ago, and God has provided all our needs.
All we are required to do is be faithful and obedient, and keep on praying.
The same is true for you. If there is a ministry on your heart, pray and keep on praying. Don’t ever stop. Sooner or later you will find yourself ministering in a role that will fulfill your expectations. Don’t assume anything and don’t try to do something you are not sure of. Wait until you hear from God, because the priesthood, so to speak, is by Divine calling.
So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." (Hebrews 5:5)
First of all, let us point out that the Father and the Son are two different People. Current teaching leans far too heavily, from my point of view, in the direction that the Father and the Son are one Person in two different manifestations or forms. If that were the case, Hebrews 5:5 would make absolutely no sense.
The Father is the Father and the Son is the Son. "God said to Him." God does not talk to Himself? God does not say to Himself, "You are My Son."
It may be at this point that the Word becomes the Son.
But what day is "today"?
We could point to three chronological occurrences when Jesus was termed "the Son": when He was born of Mary; when He was baptized by John; and by His resurrection from the dead, according to Paul in Romans.
However, it is likely that the date is not important. Time seems to lose its significance in the spirit world. Jesus said two thousand years ago that He would return quickly!
Perhaps the Father was speaking of Jesus being born of Mary. What an awesome happening! The eternal Word was born of a human being. The Word became flesh.
Changing from the Word to God’s Son is terrifically significant, I think. For one thing, we also can become sons; but we can’t become a Word in the sense that Christ was the Word. The Word becoming God’s Son brings us closer to Jesus, which I think is what God desired.
God chose Christ to be His Son. God also is choosing us to be His sons. We did not choose Him, He chose us.
And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:6)
We know little or nothing about Melchizedek, except that he was without beginning of days or end of life, and was a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. He was so highly placed that Abraham paid tithes to him. Melchizedek is "King of Righteo