Jesus Christ, Greater Than Aaron

Jesus Christ, Greater Than Aaron

Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter Five

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

In the New Testament church there is no such office!

In the Church there are only two biblical offices.

1.) That of the Pastor.

2.) That of the Deacon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest to the Church!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Christ is the final Word of God!

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

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

What is the definition of the priest?

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

Therefore a High Priest must be:

1.) Taken from among men.

2.) They are ordained for men.

3.) They go to God for men.

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

A priest represents man before God!

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

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

This was what the Prophet did!

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

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

Jesus represents those that are saved before God!

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

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

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

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

And so is every believer!

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

Aaron offered only animal sacrifices!

Christ Jesus offered Himself!

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

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

Here are the words of Jesus:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Christ is able to show mercy!

He neither condones sin nor will He condemn the sinner!

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

He will not tell us to do better next time!

Our High Priest will just extend His mercy to us!

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No man can appoint himself to be priest!

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

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

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

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

The Romans appointed whomever they chose to fill that position!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who is Melchisedec?

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

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

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

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

Melchisedek was not in the family of Abraham!

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

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

It is by Him we can approach the Father! .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.) Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus:

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

Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.

2.) Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem:

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

Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

3.) Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

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

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

***** Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

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

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

Not everything Jesus suffered came from the cross!

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

What did people ask Jesus about how to get saved?

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

AND, What was Jesus's answer?

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

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

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

This is where Satan will always lead his attack!

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

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

Jesus Christ as the Son of God was already perfect!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Every believer is then "Born To God"!

AND, God keeps all His children!

God does not throw away any of His children!

Our God is not a dead beat dad!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

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

Paul writes:

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

It is the Word of God that increases our faith!

Again Paul writes:

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

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

Even Job said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

We must share what God has given to us all!

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

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

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

The final Church Age tells us of lukewarm believers.

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

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

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

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

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

We have become backsliders!

Our sensitivity to God lessens!

Our understanding of the Bible becomes more difficult!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is always time to grow in Christ!

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

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

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

The Bible is His Word!

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

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

God expects us to grow:

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bible says:

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

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

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

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

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

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

What was Aaron's job?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's Pray!

Jesus Christ Greater Than Joshua

Christ--Greater Than Joshua

The Eternal Rest Of God

Text: Hebrews 4:1-16

God uses ordinary men to accomplish His will on this Earth! Moses led the people of Israel to the promise land but he did not lead them into the promise land.

Moses was a great man of God and when God new that the time of Moses was complete God gave Moses a time of rest.

Joshua then was appointed of God to lead the children of Israel into the promise land. There may have been a better military leader for Israel but God operates in His own wisdom and by His own plan!

Moses as a "type" of Christ was God's chosen instructor and prophet. Moses was God's chosen scribe to compile God's Word from the beginning of time.

Those laws were good, but sinful man is incapable of living by those laws. The Law had come up short!

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

So God chose Joshua. The name Joshua means "Jehovah Saves"!

In "types" in the Bible, just as Moses represented the Law, Joshua represents Our Savior!

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

It is Joshua that brought Israel over the Jordan River and divided unto them their inheritance in the promised land.

We should be able to see the future actions of Our Savior in the work of Joshua!

We should immediately see that The Son of God, Our Lord Jesus is much greater than Joshua!

We will see the word "REST" used five times in this chapter. The number five represents the "Grace of God" so we need an understanding of the "Rest" that God is talking about.

Jesus explains it this way:

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus describes two types of "rest" in this passage:

1.) There is the "rest" we are given when we know Jesus as our personal Savior.

2.) There is the "rest" we find when we understand the words He teaches us about Him.

Jesus does for every believer what the Old Testament could not do!

Jesus gives us "spiritual rest" when we have that "saving faith" in Him.

Jesus will also give us a "mental rest" while we patiently wait on His return to take us home.

Jesus will give us a "physical rest" at the Rapture or the day our work is done on this Earth!

Jer 31:25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

It is the work of Jesus that fulfills these words that Jeremiah wrote!

The "Body" is at rest when it ceases to move and the "Mind" is at rest it cannot be disturbed by the things that go on in this world!

The greatest gift we can receive while we still live is [the peace that comes from the knowledge of our Salvation]!

*****Our Text:

Heb 4:1 [Let us] therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

The very first words we see are "let us".

This was written to the Hebrew believer but the word "us" would also include every believer!

We will see the phrase "let us" many more times.

We next see the word "fear".

This not the grip of fear for something that can bring great harm!

Believers are taught:

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The fear spoken of in this verse is the "fear" we should have if we miss the importance of these words written for us in the Book of Hebrews!

In other words, "Do We Really Trust The Word Of God"?

I believe it can be said that most everyone in this world is looking for "rest" while they are alive. Most look to things that are elsewhere and not in the knowledge of Christ Jesus and the assurance of His Words.

Even the Christian who does not submit themselves to the obedience of the words of Jesus will be dissatisfied and be filled with inward turmoil and no amount of material success, physical comfort. or psychological counseling, or even religious duty will provide peace and rest.

Our true "rest" can only come from our "faith" in the promises of God!

This rest spoken of in Hebrews is relief from all adversity and all circumstances that surround us!

This rest is progressive, which means it comes from our increasing faith and each victory in our life!

"Therefore" ! Always when we study the Bible we should always be aware of the words "therefore" and "wherefore"!

These words are always important. When we see these words we will find a profound conclusion in God's Word!

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

Do you want to know how to miss out on the "rest" that God offers to His people?

When we hear the "Gospel" we must believe what God says!

We live in a mean and wicked world. A world that refuses to accept the "Grace of God". This world is not a friend to believers, in fact all unbelievers are our enemies.

We cannot have rest until we listen to what God says and believe Him!

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

We must not allow this world, our own flesh, and the Devil rob us of the "rest" that God speaks of in these passages!

Everyone from the time of Adam have heard the promises of God. If we cannot connect His promises to our rest we will never believe what God says and we will all lead miserable lives even if we are saved!

*****Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

There can be no doubt that the only way to see the "rest" spoken of here is to be a "believer"!

When we are obedient to the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His body, in His Church, In His Kingdom, we can then walk "in the light of Jesus"!

Jesus Christ was not a "martyr!

Jesus Christ came into this world for one thing only!

Jesus Christ did not die in defeat, He died in glorious victory!

That victory was not for Himself but it was for each and every believer!

Jesus Christ died according to the plan of God which was in place before His Creation!

We must understand:

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God had this purpose before He created any part of His creation!

We simply cannot give up on God when sad or bad things happen in our lives even though some of those things will seem terrible to us.

God knew what this world would be like even though it was perfect the day He created it.

There was nothing wrong with God's creation! It is sin that has blemished and will destroy the things that God has made!

We can still have peace in this world. We can walk in every valley! We can walk over every mountain top! We can walk through every crisis!

We can do this because we have peace in our hearts and victory in our souls!

God does not want us to linger at Calvary's mountain but He wants us to move on from the cross BUT that does not mean we are to move away from the cross. Our peace still comes from Christ's Death!

*****Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

This verse is a direct reference to Genesis 2:2-3. The Sabbath is not a day to keep and observe if you are a believer. All that do this do not understand what God is saying!

To enter into the true meaning of the Sabbath rest is to trust in Jesus Christ!

Those that observe "one specific day" as the day of rest miss the point of the Gospel!

This rest is not in a day!

The Sabbath is the age of "Grace", the Church Age, that we now live in!

Christ died on the cross, came back to life, and now sits at the right hand of God.

He sat back down on His throne, not because He was tired but because He had finished the way of our redemption.

Jesus now says we can rest in Him and therefore everyday is our Sabbath Day!

Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

We can only rest in Christ Jesus and Jesus is our Sabbath!

*****Heb 4:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

A lost person cannot be saved until they are hungry for 'the rest that only God can give'! They must be willing to "trust" God and the promises He makes!

To the saved if we have anything that stands between us and Him then we can never find this "rest of God" that He speaks of here!

When we yield to God, and obey Him with our faith, we can enjoy His "rest"!

That rest begins here:

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, [we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ]:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And continues here:

Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 [And the peace of God], which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

To get the peace of God, we must be at peace with God!

***** Heb 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Joshua is the Hebrew Name for Savior in the Old Testament.

Jesus is the Greek name for Savior in the New Testament.

Joshua did lead Israel into Canaan Land but this is not the "rest" that is spoken of in these verses!

You see it was impossible for Joshua to give the "rest" that only Jesus can give!

There is no time in the history of Israel that they have been in complete and everlasting "rest"!

That "rest" is still in the future!

The rest to all God's people is that Heavenly rest that can only come through Jesus Christ!

Heaven is the place of real satisfaction!
Heaven is the place of real joy!
Heaven is the place of real blessing!
Heaven is the place where God's people can see Him face to face!

"Therefore" there is still a "rest" to come for God's Children!

*****Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

When God rested on the seventh day of creation it was not because He was tired, it was because He was finished.

Until the New Testament, God only added thorns and thistles to what He made in that first week!

There is only one continuous creation that is made in the New Testament!

This new creation that began with the cross and commenced with Pentecost is the Church!

Every Born Again child of God is a New Creature:

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Sons of Gods are His only creation today and these creations also come by Jesus Christ!

God has now at rest and on the throne now because the work of Salvation is finished and therefore the only work we do in our part of Salvation is to give God someone to save!

There is nothing we can contribute to our own salvation except our own faith!

We must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

We had no chance to be righteous before God, until Jesus made a way for us!

*****Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Do we have any labor to do to enter into God's "Rest"?

Faith is an action word. We can say we have faith but it should be noticed in our actions!

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

This does not mean we have to work our way to Heaven!

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

What ever we do, we should not miss the vital connection between the Word of God and the life of "rest" God offers us!

Bible study is the key to spiritual growth and maturity!

We cannot trust what we do not know, and we cannot act upon what we do not trust!

Trust and Faith go hand in hand!

We cannot allow our "unbelief" sabotage "our rest" while here on this earth and our "true rest" that will come in God's Heaven!

*****Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This verse does not mean that we will use God's Word to slaughter the saints!

God's Word does cut deep and that is the purpose of the indwelled Holy Spirit!

It does also mean the God's Word will destroy the actions of Satan when it is obeyed!

The power of God's Word will penetrate and expose the inner works of every man!

The Israelites criticized the Word of God instead of allowing God's Word to judge them and convict them!

*****Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

God sees all the way into the heart but we do not always know what lingers in our hearts or our minds until they surface, to our shame.

God uses His written Word to expose our sin and increase our trust in Him which will lead to our own obedience to His Word!

"God's Word is our mirror to expose us for who we are!

When we see what we really are we can then be saved and enter into "the rest" that God promises!

None of this would be possible without the finished work of Jesus on the cross!

The Son of God rested after His work was done and He offers all that believe this same rest!

We can do this only when we:

1.) Trust His Word

2.) Obey His Will

3.) Listen to what His Word says

4.) And Understand the consequences for ignoring God's Word

5.) We must surrender our selves and our lives to Our Lord!

*****Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

The words "seeing then" places the responsibility to make a proper choice on each believer!

Since we have such a High Priest it is necessary that we take advantage of the High Priest we have!

Jesus Christ is superior to the Levitical Priesthood!

This should have been very important to the Hebrew believer!

The Lord Jesus Christ himself is Our Great High Priest!

If we look at our world we will see priests everywhere but most all of them want to be a go between.

They actually discourage and most even bar any approach to God to the individual believer!

This is a denial of the finished work of Jesus Christ:

Luk 23:45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

And again:

Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

All of us need a priest!

BUT, The Lord Jesus Christ was not a High Priest while He lived on this Earth!

*****Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Our relationship with our High Priest is not based on feelings or rituals!

Our relationship with our High Priest is based on facts.!

We truly do have a High Priest that is higher than the Heavens themselves.

Jesus Christ was tested but had no sin!

Jesus Christ could not fail because He was the God-Man!

We can be sure that the attempt to tempt Jesus was greater than any that we will ever see!

BUT, Our Lord cannot be tempted!

Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Satan can find things in me and he can find things in you but he could not find anything in the Lord Jesus Christ!

BUT, Because Jesus was tested, He knows how we feel when we are tested and He even prays that we will not yield to that temptation!

Our Great High Priest is always available in our hour of need!

We do not need to go to some human go between!

Jesus knew what sorrow felt like:

Joh 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
Joh 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.

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

Because we know all these things about our Great High Priest, we have a great freedom to approach the throne of the Living God and not only to find relief BUT to find answers!

There is great comfort in knowing we are not alone in our sorrows!

When we speak to Our Lord we can know we have an ear that listens and understands all our needs!

In fact if we approach Our Lord and do not respect this freedom He has given us, He may even ignore us because it shows a lack of faith!

Remember we are going to the "throne of Grace"!

To be saved is to already have been to the throne of judgment!

Every believer has been "justified"!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

If you have peace with God, you will find mercy at the throne of Grace!

Believe me when I say we need a lot of mercy from Our High Priest!

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, [but according to his mercy he saved us], by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

The help we find at the feet of Jesus goes beyond any help on this Earth!

Salvation is the greatest thing that can happen in our lives!

We are permanently and eternally saved!

God truly wants to be a part of our everyday lives!

God knows what we are going through and He is always there to help us!

God will give us the "rest" that comes with this knowledge but He has a "rest" greater than we can know when He takes us into His house in Heaven!

Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 [Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit].
Psa 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

When we know these things we should be telling others so they can know also!

Questions!

Let's Pray!

　

Jesus Christ, Greater Than Moses

Christ, Greater Than Moses

Hebrews Chapter 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That "iron furnace" is in "type" a picture of Hell!

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

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

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

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

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

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

*****Our Text:

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

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

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

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

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

The Apostle Paul said:

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

Paul wrote in another place:

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

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

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

Again Paul wrote:

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

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

Again Paul wrote:

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

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

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

Jesus said in the Book of Matthew:

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

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

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

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

Without His intercession we could never be accepted of God!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Apostle Peter preached:

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

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

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

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

Jesus is the Creator!

Moses like any other man is just the creature!

Just as all the prophets!

And, Just as all the Angels!

We read:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moses was never called the Son of God!

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

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

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

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

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

The Bible tells us what this hope is all about!

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

and again:

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

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

We can relate our "confidence" to our freedom of speech!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They were doubting the Word of God!

God had said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now we see the end of the "wherefore" of verse 7.

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

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

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

AND, Not every saved individual is a true Christian!

The title Christian still means to be like Jesus Christ!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus said to pray:

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

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

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

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

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

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

We must turn everything over to Him!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moses was a servant to the living God!

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

God truly wants us to be blessed!

Questions.

Let's Pray!

Jesus Christ The Sinless Son Of Man

Jesus Christ, The Sinless Son Of Man

Book of Hebrews 2:1-18

We learned in our last lesson that Jesus was greater than any prophet of the Bible. This gives Him the right to give us the will of God by teaching us His Word. We should listen to every word He says!

We know that it was Jesus who sent us the Holy Spirit after His death, to live inside us and to guide us!

We learned that Jesus is greater than any and all the angels. The angels are powerful but an angel cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and therefore cannot be saved if they fall from the "Grace of God", such as Lucifer and those that followed him.

No angel could have ever done the work of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Jesus is greater than any and all the rulers of this Earth we live on!

It is a foolish choice when we do not allow Jesus to rule supreme in our lives, while we are living in this body of flesh!

We have a loving Savior who will one day take us home to Heaven!

It was necessary for God to come to this earth and live as a human, in order for Him to be a perfect sacrifice for all other humans!

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

God has given us this special privilege to live in these latter days BUT He also expects a lot out of us:

Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. [For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required]: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

The Messiah came as the man Jesus Christ so He could restore mankind to the condition God intended from the beginning.

There are two great things we will learn from the Book of Hebrews:

1.) Jesus, as the Son of Man, reveals The God of the Holy Trinity to Mankind.

2.) Jesus, as the Crucified Son of Man, will represent mankind before the Almighty, Living God.

If we cannot realize that each one of us have a representative in Heaven that secures and defends our salvation, we will be like some others who think they have lost their salvation, which is impossible, because of Our Savior, who is now our Advocate, sits at the throne of God.

Jehovah the Holy Trinity cannot lose anything He has created, much less those that He has "redeemed"!

*****Our Text:

Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

These verses are not in our lesson but lets look at them anyhow.

We see that this very first verse tells us we need to listen to what God tells us in His Word. That word "earnest" means "we need to pay close attention"!

That word "therefore" means, because of what we learned from the first chapter of Hebrews, that Jesus, the Son of God, is the speaker of the last days and not the prophets and not the angels!

We are to take what God says and just believe it because of the source of those words, Christ Jesus, The Author of our faith:

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

God says we cannot allow His Words to just slip by us, because we cannot escape the bondage of sin if we do not obtain the "Salvation" brought to us and given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot just neglect the Word of God!

The truth is still the truth even if we do not believe it!

Jesus Christ delivered a greater message than all that came before Him and everyone that hears this message has a greater responsibility to not only listen to this message but to learn from it because there will be a greater accountability for what Jesus teaches us than anything that was taught in the Old Testament.

*****Our Text:

Heb 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
Heb 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Heb 2:7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

That "world to come" is not a reference to Heaven but is a reference to the time of the Millennial Kingdom when King Jesus will rule on the Earth.

The Greek word used here means "the inhabited Earth". This same Greek word is used when Jesus said to preach the gospel to all the world, "the inhabited Earth".

In fact in Luke 2:1 this same Greek word is used when Caesar Augustus sent out his decree to all the world which at that time meant the Roman Empire, "the inhabited Earth".

In Luke 21:26 this same Greek word is used as the word Earth, "the inhabited Earth". This world to come cannot mean Heaven nor can it mean New Jerusalem.

Hebrew believers would know that this was a reference to the promise to King David!

2Sa 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
2Sa 7:17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

Psa 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Psa 89:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

Psa 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Psa 89:28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

Psa 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

The angels have never ruled in the past and the angels will never rule this earth in the future. They have been servants and messengers and they will continue to do the same throughout eternity.

What is man?

The Son of God, left the riches of Heaven and came to this Earth, to become man. He left Heaven's glory, not to be an angel but to be lower than an angel, a man Himself.

Of himself man is nothing and can be nothing. The materials to make a man cost less than two dollars even in our economy.

Physically man is not valuable!

Mentally, we just think we are something but even Jesus said we are nothing without Him!

The only thing we provide to God is "a lost sinner" in need of Salvation!

We can see that in reality we are very much lower than the angels!

God, who is greater than all His creation, came to the Earth but He came as a lowly man and not as a powerful angel.

God could not have revealed Himself to us if He had come as a powerful angel.

God came to represent mankind!

God came to this Earth so He could take man back to Heaven!

If we can get to Heaven it will be because of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Messiah!

There is no other means to be saved, nor to get to God's Heaven!

It is man, Adam who was set over God's creation and not any angel!

We are going to do something that no angel could ever do! God is going to bring man back to a place of ruling this Earth and not Satan, who is now the "little g" god of this world.

God does not intend on Lucifer or any other angel to rule any part of His creation!

But we can also see in America and all over this world that, "man is not yet capable of ruling again on this Earth".

God has placed everything under the feet of Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God!

When Christ Jesus rules this Earth as King, it will return to the paradise that it once was!

*****Our Text:

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11 [For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one]: for which cause [he is not ashamed to call them brethren],
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto [my brethren], in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, [Behold I and the children which God hath given me].

The sinless Son of Man, Jesus Christ Our Lord had to lay aside His Glory in order than He could die that we can share His Glory!

Jesus came down to our level, but He never committed a sin!

Jesus had to survive temptation to become the perfect sacrifice for our sin.

Jesus paid the full price for our sin! We do not have to pay one thing in the redemption process!

The only thing we give to God, is a person in need of saving.

Jesus Christ came to this world in order that we could be saved and that He will one day take us back to the glory-land.

It is in Jesus Christ, and only in Jesus Christ that we can be saved!

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

If we use the word "rescuing" more than the word "saving", we would have a better understanding of what the Captain of Salvation has done.

Jesus has "rescued" each and every believer and He will accept, "whosoever will believe" into His house in Heaven.

Jesus says:

Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

This means "we that believe" and "the Son of God" belong to the same family!

If we can accept this fact, then we should know that we are also to live as close to perfect as we can in this flesh that houses our soul!

Not only are we His brothers and sisters, we are also His children!

If the Messiah had not come to this earth and become a man, He would not have been able to take us back to Heaven.

Jesus had to be the incarnate Son of God.
Jesus had to be the crucified Son of Man.
Jesus had to be the Resurrected Savior.

OR, there could no salvation for anyone!

Jesus Christ, just like us, trusted God just like we have to do, and because if we have that "faith" in Father God as He had, He is not ashamed to call us His brethren.

When Christ Jesus was on that cross, His enemies had these words:

Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Jesus showed this trust in His Father, but not for Himself, He and His Father are one.

Jesus showed this trust in His Father for the children His Father gave to Him!

A sinner must be called of God, "this is called conviction" by and of God the Holy Ghost(Spirit).

This is every believer from that time until the end of time.

What did God the Father do:

Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

He accepted the sacrifice of His Son!

When we do not accept the completed work of Jesus on that cross, we are saying that it was not good enough for us, when God the Father, in Heaven, has already accepted this sacrifice!

When we wait on the Lord, we are trusting in His return and in the words He has told us and written down for us.

We are also trusting that God the Father truly loves us because of His Son!

God the Father is the only Being in this universe who has the power of death because "He is the giver of all life"!

Our Text:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Why did the Son of God, The Messiah, come to this Earth the first time? Verse 14 gives us our answer!

The Holy Spirit reminds us that we are on Satan's "turf"!

We live in a place where Satan is present. Satan will never again be present in Heaven, and that is where the home of the believer is located. Ever since the fall of Adam, this world and this world system has been influence by Satan and therefore his territory of influence.

1.) Satan is the prince of the power of the air. We can only imagine what all this means.

2.) Satan is the "little g" god of this age. Which means the time, up until the Second Coming of Christ Jesus.

3.) Satan is the ruler of this world but Satan can only attack the children of God with the permission of God as we can prove by the Book of Job.

4.) This why every world view will always oppose the Word of God!

We have the same attack on every person in this world just as the serpent deceived Eve!

The Messiah, The First Coming of the Son of God, fulfilled prophecy:

He was born like a man and named Jesus!
He took the same flesh and blood as a man!
He fulfilled prophecy in His birth, but He was born naturally like every human.

Why?

Because that, then He died, He would render Satan powerless over death!

The Bible says:

1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. [For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.]

By making Satan powerless, He set at liberty all of us who were bound for Hell, in bondage and were servants of Satan, the Devil.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Angels cannot die!

Jesus Christ did not come to save not one angel!

Jesus, The Son of God, The Messiah, came to save humans!

The Messiah had to come in the form of "Human Flesh" for only then could He die and in His death defeat Satan whose methods would have destroyed all life.

Satan is a fallen angel who cannot die, not because God does not have the power to do so, but because God says so in His Word and He will not violate any part of His Word.

The spiritual death of Satan will mean that He will no longer be able to operate as He did. He is not so much destroyed but we could say disarmed.

He holds no power of death over the believer!

It is the death of Our Savior that gives us life!

Not the miracle of the Virgin birth!

Not the miracles He performed including the raising of the dead!

Not His life on this Earth BUT only by His death!

The after His death, He showed His power in His own resurrection!

We are still going to die in this flesh but because of the work of Jesus on the cross we can live forever spiritually, and one day, with a new glorified body.

This is the great and wonderful gift that Jesus, Our Lord has given to each one of us who believe!

Satan is the author of Sin:

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Sin brings death:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But because of the cross and the resurrection of Our Lord, we can also have life eternal:

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

I believe that it can be said that in the Old Testament, The Son of God took on the nature of angels to do His Work and is many times called the Angel of the Lord but in the New Testament, He took on the seed of Abraham so that the Jew could believe.

God made every effort from the time of Adam and Eve to let them know that the Messiah would come in the flesh as a Jew.

The path to that baby born of a virgin and laid in a manger was marked throughout the Bible.

Everybody should be able to see these signs of truth, yet He is still denied.

The Bible teaches us:

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

God gave the world His Old Testament to lead them to Him:

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The New Testament is to teach us all:

Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

God has so dealt with sin that He can now show mercy to every believing sinner to remove "all" our guilt and therefore our "bondage" to sin.

What is the great truth of the Bible now for the believer?

1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you do not know this marvelous Savior, "today" would be a good day to find Him as He is standing just outside your heart:

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Questions?

Let's Pray!