Daily Writing

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

…from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Hebrews 10:13

Here we have a term, footstool, which is drawn from Psalm 110 –

The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Psalm 110:1

This was then used by the author in Chapter 1 –

But to which of the angels has He ever said:
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Hebrews 1:13

However, the thought is also essentially repeated in 1 Corinthians 15, a passage which is necessary to understand what is on the author’s mind –

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For ‘He has put all things under His feet.’ But when He says ‘all things are put under Him,’ it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

The idea presented now in Hebrews is that the words, “from that time,” are speaking of the words of the previous verse which spoke of Christ’s one-time sacrifice for sins which was then followed by His sitting down at the right hand of God. He is at the position of all power and authority, and yet He has not yet subdued all of His enemies. Thus, from the time He sat down, He is “waiting.” Christ is not repeating His sacrifice. Instead, that is complete, and its effects are ongoing for any and all who will but receive Him. Further, they are on-going for Israel collectively to also receive Him. After those numbers are filled, there is still one more aspect of His waiting, which is that He will continue to wait until “His enemies are made His footstool.”

The enemies referred to are found first in Revelation 19, and include the beast and the false prophet. They will be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Those joined with them will be “killed with the sword.” This will then usher in the millennial reign of Christ. But this is not the completion of subduing His enemies. In Revelation 20, it then notes that the enemies of God will be destroyed by fire and then the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. After a final judgment on all humanity is completed, Death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire.

There is a long process ahead which will be played out in redemptive history. Until that is complete, the plan will continue. Only when “His enemies are made His footstool,” meaning being brought into complete subjugation, will the process be fully complete.

Life application: Jesus is, even now, seated at the right hand of God, meaning all authority, all power, all honor are His, and all allegiance is due Him. However, the concept of a footstool is included here to indicate the ongoing nature of bringing the world back to the original state in which it was created – with complete obedience to God and fellowship with Him. When we sit, our work is done, but when we use a footstool, total peace has been achieved. The world we see now isn’t in total peace. It continues to strive against the risen Christ. However, one day He will return and destroy all wickedness. As Matthew Henry said, “Christ’s enemies shall be made his footstool; some by conversion, others by confusion; and, which way soever it be, Christ will be honoured.”

Heavenly Father, because of Christ we look forward with anticipation to that glorious day when there will be no more strife, no more anxiety, no more loss or pain or death. Instead, we will live in Your presence forevermore – perfectly content in all Your glory! May that day be soon! Thank You for the sure promises we have because of Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, Hebrews 10:12

This verse repeats thoughts seen already in several verses, including 1:3, 7:27, 8:1, and 9:26 (and others possibly as well) –

“…who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (1:3)

“…who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” (7:27)

“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,” (8:1)

“He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (9:26)

The repetition is a valuable tool to call to remembrance, and thus to solidify in the mind of the reader, these important doctrinal truths. Further, the repetition supports each step of the logical case the author makes concerning the supremacy of the work of Christ, under the New Covenant, over that of the Law of Moses. With this understanding, it now says in this verse, “But this Man.” It is speaking of Christ Jesus. That thought is given in contrast to what was just stated in the previous verse which spoke of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. From there, in this contrasting thought, he says, “after He had offered one sacrifice for sins.” This is contrasted to the word “repeatedly.”

There were many sacrifices for sins under the Old Covenant; there is one Sacrifice of Christ under the New. Those in the Old were a different category than man, being animals; that under the New is in the same, being a Man. Those under the Old were offered by another, but which included sins even for himself; those under the New were offered by Himself – and in His sinless perfection – on behalf of others.

From there, the author adds in the word “forever.” It is a word, diénekés, found only in verses 7:3, 10:1, 10:12, and 10:14. It signifies to “bear all the way across, in an unbroken (non-stop) fashion; to persist all the way, to the (intended) end, i.e. ‘unbroken, continuous . . . perpetually, forever’ (Abbott-Smith).” (HELPS Word Studies). The meaning of the word is not in dispute, but the placement of it is. The Greek can read one of two ways –

1) But this man offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God, Douay-Rheims Bible

2) But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, NKJV

Despite the possibility of being tied to either “sacrifice,” or “sat down,” in the Greek, the context clearly provides the correct meaning. It is connected to “sacrifice.” The repeated sacrifices which could never take away sin (10:4) are contrasted to the one Sacrifice that is sufficient “forever.” Further, if “forever” was tied to “sat down,” then there would be a contradiction in the Bible. The intended meaning of “sat down” is to convey the thought of accomplished work which is not to be repeated, but there are results of that work for which Christ rises from His position of sitting. One is found in Acts 7 –

“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶ and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’” Acts 7:55, 56

The work of Christ on behalf of His people means that they shall be welcomed into God’s presence because of it. As what can only be considered as the greatest of honor, Christ stood to receive His first recorded martyr, Stephen. Though His work is completed, He uses His position at the right hand of God to rise in acknowledgment of the results of that work at His will. It is a demonstration of the absolute greatness of the King of kings that He would do such for those He first died for.

Only after His one-time and for all-time Sacrifice, does the author say that Christ “sat down at the right hand of God.” It is there that He rules with all power and authority in heaven and on earth at His command.

Life application: If you struggle with the doctrine of eternal salvation, consider this verse and be at peace. Jesus went to the cross, paid the price for your sin debt, and then He sat down. What He did is:

1) Complete
2) Never to be repeated, and
3) Eternal in significance

And Jesus didn’t just sit down on a lounge chair at the beach. Instead, He sat down “at the right hand of God.” All power, all authority, and all control belongs to Jesus. How could the Lord of all creation save you and then allow you to be lost again? It is impossible! If you have called on Jesus, you are free from all condemnation. Now go forth and live in His grace, grateful for His forever finished work.

Lord Jesus, never allow us to falter in the confident knowledge that you have eternally saved us from our sins. Help us to never fall back into sin, but if we do, strengthen us and return us to the right path. Keep our hearts, our minds, and our lives on that path which is directed to You. Glory, honor, and majesty belong to You alone! Amen.

Monday, 28 January 2019

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. Hebrews 10:11

We now have a thought repeated from verse 4 of this chapter, and yet it is given as a contrast to verse 10. In verse 4, it said that it is “not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” In verse 10 (the previous verse), it says that by God’s will “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The contrast is seen in the first clause of this verse. In Christ, there was a one-time offering of His body for the sins of His people. However, in the Levitical priesthood, “every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices.”

1) The words, “every priest,” are a sharp contrast to the one true High Priest, Jesus Christ.”

2) The word, “stands,” is given as a contrast to what Christ did after He completed His work. He “sat down” (Hebrews 1:3) after purging the sins of the people.

3) The many sacrifices were offered (daily and repeatedly) to cover sin, but as soon as another sin occurred, another offering was necessary. The sacrifice could never purify the believer because those sacrifices could “never take away sins” (repeated from verse 10:4). This is contrasted to the one-time offering of Christ.

The reason for the contrast and the repetition is because the author is slowly and meticulously building his case for the supremacy of the work of Jesus. He will again make a contrast in the coming verse which will solidify this intent. The supremacy of what Christ did will be on full display. Before getting there though, the huge multitude of sacrifices that were made over the years from Moses to Jesus should be considered.

There were thousands upon thousands of them. Each fulfilled a particular purpose, and each was a reminder to the people that they were imperfect. The sacrifice, though intending to atone for sin, actually highlighted their need for continued atonement. How much greater then is Jesus, who truly died for the sins of the world – one Sacrifice for all time.

Life application: You might possibly be struggling with the idea of asking Jesus to save you more than once. In fact, you may have asked Him to save you many times because you fear that you didn’t do it right or that He somehow didn’t hear you. These thoughts are based on fear. But as John says –

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

Have no fear – if Christ died once for our atonement, then you need only ask Him to save you once. Be perfected in His love which was demonstrated on the cross and you are then assured of eternal salvation. Surely His sacrifice is sufficient. Let’s pray about this.

Heavenly Father, give me a spirit of peace and assurance that my salvation is secure in the work of Jesus. Let me not be fearful that I could ever lose what You have so graciously provided for me through His cross. Today and forevermore, I will stand on the promises of Your word – I am saved, saved, saved! I am saved through the blood of Christ! Amen.

Sunday, 27 January 2019

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

The words, “by that will,” are speaking of the will of God as cited from the psalm. Those words said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” It was God’s will that sent Christ Jesus into the world. Christ then accomplished what God willed Him to do. This “will” then begins to be explained with the words, “we have been sanctified.” It was God’s will that man would be sanctified through the coming of Christ, without which we would remain unholy and forever lost.

The verb translated as “have been sanctified” is in the perfect tense. Thus, this is not speaking of progressive sanctification, as if it were an ongoing process. Rather, it is the full and complete sanctification necessary for man to stand holy once again before God. This corresponds to Paul’s words of Romans 15:16, which speaks of the sanctification of the Gentiles –

“…that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

The sanctification is complete, and it is fully sufficient for man – both Jew and Gentile – to be acceptable to God. Of this, Vincent’s Word Studies states, “…as having become partakers of the spirit of Christ. This is the work of the eternal spirit, whose will is the very will of God. It draws men into its own sphere, and makes them partakers of its holiness.” With this understanding, the author then explains how that state of sanctification comes about. It is “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.”

This refers back to verse 10:5 where the author cited the psalm saying, “But a body You have prepared for Me.” The body of Christ was given to replace the ineffectual sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant. Those were, as it said in verse 10:9, taken away (because the law was taken away) in order to establish the New Covenant through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. That is “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.” And it is, “once for all.”

The words, “once for all,” are to be taken together with the words, “we have been sanctified.” Christ’s offering was a one time for all time event which is set in contrast to the temporary offerings of the Levitical priesthood. They cleansed outwardly and temporarily; Christ cleanses inwardly and forever.

Life application: Jesus came to fulfill God’s will on behalf of fallen man; to perfect the imperfect and to restore that which had fallen. By doing God’s will, Jesus fulfilled the law which was then taken away through the introduction of the New Covenant. Through this covenant, all who call on the name of the Lord by faith have been made holy through His sacrifice, once and for all. Not once, but twice in this verse, the author proclaims eternal salvation for the believer –

1) We “have been sanctified,” and
2) This was accomplished “once for all.”

There is no need to fret over whether we need to ask Jesus more than once to save us. Nor is there any need to question whether our prayer in faith, be it recently or many years ago, has truly made us acceptable to God; it has. We also don’t need detailed knowledge of what occurred or how it happened. What is needed is to, once and for all, with the simple faith of a child, ask Jesus to forgive us and to be our Savior. Everything after that is growing in Christian maturity, but never let anyone deceive you that you need to do more. Jesus’ blood is sufficient to save even you and He is powerful enough to never let you go. As He said,

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37

Heavenly Father, Your word says that through the offering of Christ we have been sanctified. It also says that this is once for all, assuring us that when we are saved, we are saved forever. Please open the eyes of those who feel Your salvation is a temporary gift which then is up to us to hold onto. If that is true, then it was never of grace. Open their eyes to this false teaching so that they can find true rest in Your salvation, once and forever. Amen.