Writings

Wednesday, 2 January 2019

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, Hebrews 9:13

This verse initiates a thought which will continue through the next verse as well. And then, after that, it will be settled in verse 9:15. However, it is tied to the previous words with the connector, “For.” Thus, what is presented is explanatory of what has been stated in verse 12 where it said that Christ has obtained for us “eternal redemption.” With that in his view, he will have the thoughts tied together at the end of verse 9:15 using the words, “that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

In other words, the “eternal redemption,” leads to obtaining the “eternal inheritance.” With that in view, and to get us to that point, he now says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats.” This takes us back to the explanation of the Day of Atonement which was just described in verse 12. However, the thought certainly extends to other sacrifices as well where the same animals were used in other rituals. This is all the more certain based on the next words which say, “and the ashes of a heifer.”

The ashes of a heifer were not used on the Day of Atonement. Rather, how they were obtained, and the purpose they served, is found in Numbers 19. In verses 1-10 the process of obtaining these ashes is described. In verse 9, it says that these are for “purifying from sin.” This is then more fully explained in verses 11-13 –

“He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ¹² He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.” Number 19:11-13

As is seen, these ashes were for “sprinkling the unclean.” It is an outward cleansing of the flesh, but it actually does nothing to purify the person in their heart and soul. Like the other rites and rituals encountered throughout the law, this simply “sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh.”

As can be seen, the author is setting up a contrast where he demonstrates the inferiority of the sacrificial system of the Law of Moses. Though he only mentions a few here, there were various animals that were used for those rituals – lambs, goats, bulls, doves, and even a red heifer’s ashes. Each served a particular purpose and some could serve several purposes, but they all had one thing in common – they only made the people outwardly clean, and most of these purifications were simply symbolic in nature. In some, hyssop was dipped into the blood or other mixture and then it was sprinkled on the people. This was done as a reminder of their unclean state in the presence of God. Some of these cleansings, such as in the case of the ashes of the red heifer, took seven full days to be accomplished, but they were still only external rites of purification.

Such outward cleansings were only a foreshadowing of the greater work of Jesus and His shed blood. Peter uses such terminology in the greeting of his first epistle, applying it to the true cleansing power of Jesus –

“…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:2

Life application: People who want to please God through works of the law are attempting to have it both ways. First, they want to appear more holy and pious through external rites, like not eating pork. “Oh, I am way better than you because I don’t eat that dirty flesh of swine.” But yet, in their attempt to supposedly be clean in this way, they don’t observe any of the blood or sprinkling rituals required under that same law. Not one person in 2000 years has done this. And so their attempt to be symbolically clean, by not doing one thing, is entirely negated by not doing another. Epic fail. Do not follow such people, but come to the Fount of true cleansing. Come to Christ Jesus who is the fulfillment of all of these mere types and shadows. Indeed – Come to Christ.

Thank You Lord God for the more perfect cleansing we have in the precious blood of Jesus, without which we stand unclean and condemned. Help us to remember always the high cost of our atonement and purification, and to accept it with humility, knowing we don’t deserve the least of Your favor. Amen.

Tuesday, 1 January 2019

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:12

Here, the author is describing the requirements of the Day of Atonement for the high priest of Israel. These requirements are minutely described in Leviticus 16. The symbolism of Christ fills the entire passage with picture after picture of His work. It is an astonishing study. First, the high priest had to take the blood of a bull (here called a calf) into the Most Holy Place. This was to atone for his own sins. After this, he took the blood of a goat for the sins of the people.

The superiority of what Christ did is seen in the contrasting word de, translated here as “but.” Unlike the high priest of Israel, who is acknowledged as a sinner because of the need to offer blood for himself, such is not the case with Christ Jesus. Rather, He is the perfect sacrifice which these animals only pictured, and He entered “with His own blood.” The perfection implied in the animals which were sacrificed was due to an inspection of them first. There was to be no defect in them, and thus they represented Christ in His perfect, unblemished state. In His death, He presented Himself as the sacrificial offering. As it literally says in the Greek, “through however the own blood He entered.”

The Greek word dia signifies “through,” “on account of,” or “because of.” It is by the instrumentality of His own blood that He entered the Most Holy Place. It is the same word used in verse 9:11 where Christ went dia, or through, the greater and more perfect tabernacle. Here His entering of the Most Holy Place was through His own blood, proving His sinlessness, and thus demonstrating His ability to fully cleanse those for whom His life was given. As it says, “once for all.”

It is the same Greek word used by Paul in Romans 6:10 which says, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all.” Christ died once for all, and He entered the Most Holy Place once for all. Unlike the high priest who used an animal, a type of Christ, and who had to repeat the same sacrifices year after year, Christ died once. His death, validated in His shed blood, is fully sufficient to forever cleanse all those who come to Him. It is, when logically considered, the surest proof of the doctrine of eternal salvation. The icing on the cake is that in acceptance of this atoning sacrifice, one is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee (Ephesians 1:13, 14). With this understanding of surety, the author finishes with, “having obtained eternal redemption.”

The word translated as “redemption” is found only here and in Luke 1:68 and Luke 2:38. It signifies “the payment of the full ransom-price to free a slave – particularly the redemption of an individual” (HELPS Word Studies). In other words, the individual so redeemed has been ransomed eternally – the price is paid, and freedom is granted. Vincent’s Word Studies explains the meaning –

“Not mere duration is contemplated, but quality; a redemption answering in its quality to that age when all the conditions of time shall be no more: a redemption not ritual, but profoundly ethical and spiritual.”

Again, the entire verse speaks of a one-time for all-time salvation. It is eternal in scope, and it is never to be repeated. Jesus Christ’s blood does not purchase eternal insecurity, but rather eternal security. The thought here takes us back to what was said in Hebrews 5:8, 9 –

“…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

Eternal redemption equates to eternal salvation. The two are met and obtained through faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. To say one can lose what Christ died for is to say that the blood of Christ is a lie. Either the act is sufficient and forever complete, or we have placed our hope in a system which can fail by our own actions, meaning that what we do is greater than what Christ has done. This is impossible.

Life application: The believer in Jesus Christ has no need to worry if he has “lost” his salvation for some heinous sin; it cannot happen. If a person came to Christ by faith and accepted His offer of peace, then he is eternally secure. All people fall, all stumble, all make mistakes, but the blood of Jesus Christ is infinitely more powerful to cleanse than we are to err. He has secured “eternal salvation” and “eternal redemption” for His people. Both Peter and Paul state that we “have” been redeemed. Paul says in Ephesians 4:30 that the Holy Spirit has sealed us for the day of redemption. If the two apostles say we “have” been redeemed and then Paul says we are sealed “for” the day of redemption, and Hebrews says that we have “eternal redemption,” then it logically follows that we are potentially redeemed now and that this will be actualized at a future date. It also means it can never be lost. Praise be to God that Jesus Christ’s blood was presented on our behalf! The perfect for the imperfect – what an honor to be called by the name of Jesus!

Lord Jesus, we have failed you a million times and we loathe our failings, but there is no fear that You have turned from us, nor that You ever will. We are assured of the glorious promise of Your eternal redemption obtained for us on the cross of Calvary. When You said, “It is finished,” we can trust that it is so. Praises belong to You, O Christ! Amen.

Monday, 31 December 2018

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Hebrews 9:11

The author now contrasts the earthly sanctuary that he has been describing – meaning its makeup, rituals, offerings, and services – with that of Christ’s. This is evident with the conjunction de, translated here as, “But.” In this contrast, he says, “But Christ.”

In this, we have the contrast between the high priest of Israel under the Old Covenant, meaning Aaron and his sons after him, and Jesus, the “Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). He, not Aaron, “came as High Priest of the good things to come.” A point of correction: “Of good things to come” is wrong. It is “of good things having come.” One might say, “of the good things realized.” As Vincent’s Word Studies says, it speaks of “Blessings not merely prophetic or objects of hope, but actually attained; free approach to God, the better covenant, personal communion with God, the purging of the conscience.”

Despite the translation, the obvious meaning of this is that what came under the Old Covenant was not “good” in comparison to what has come in Christ. Paul says in Romans 7:12 that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” But Paul continues with the words, “Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.”

Now in Hebrews, the author is here making a contrast between the law and the grace found in Christ. The commandment is good, but its outcome – because of sin in man – is not. In Christ though, the outcome far outshines what the law could produce. The law brought death; Christ brings life. The law highlighted sin; Christ removes sin (see Hebrews 10:1). The law demanded a penalty; Christ grants grace and mercy. Such “good things” are not found under the law, but they radiantly shine forth in the New Covenant.

And, along with these great outcomes, the author says that Christ came “with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands.” This is then a contrast to what he has already said about the tabernacle of the first covenant. In Chapter 8, he said, “there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain’” (Hebrews 8:4, 5).

What Aaron served at was an earthly tabernacle, and only a “copy and shadow” of a greater and more perfect tabernacle. Whereas that of Aaron was made by human hands, that of Christ is heavenly. It was “not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.” This is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 –

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

In the fact that what Christ presents is heavenly, we see an undeniable truth. As the sanctuary, the implements in it, the offerings made there, and those who served there – all of it – pointed to Christ, and prefigured Him and His work, and as the author says that all of this is “not of this creation,” then the inescapable truth is that Jesus Christ is not a created being as claimed by cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Though He united with His creation, He is not created. As He is not created, then He must be the Creator, because only the Creator is not created.

Who Christ is, and what He has done for us in the New Covenant, is not just “better than” anything connected with the Old Covenant. Rather, He is infinitely so. There is no comparison which can truly be made between the two when considering both their makeup and their outcome.

Life application: What God established was good and it met its purposes perfectly, which is that we would realize we can never attain righteousness through the law, the temple, or the temple rituals. Rather, Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf, coming “with the greater and more perfect tabernacle.” Consider the glory of God, His absolute splendor. Now imagine how minuscule we are in comparison to creation. In fact, take 6 minutes to watch this video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U

After this, ask yourself the question David asked so long ago, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4). Imagine the Creator of all of this caring so much for you that He united with human flesh and humbled Himself on a cross… all for you. When you are feeling low, useless, or lacking value, please remember that God feels completely the opposite about you. Through Christ, He has called you His precious child.

Lord God, Your word reveals that we have true value to You, if we will but come to You in faith. You possess all of the power displayed in the universe, and even more. And yet You loved us enough that You sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we could be restored to You once again. Surely we have value to You, if we will but come to You in faith. Help us to do so, O God. Amen.

Sunday, 30 December 2018

…concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. Hebrews 9:10

In the previous verse, it was explained that the things of the past which were recorded concerning the makeup of the sanctuary, the articles contained within in it, and the rites and rituals associated with it, were “symbolic for the present time.” As noted, the word “symbolic” means “a parable.” They were ineffectual in perfecting the conscience. The author now continues that thought by saying that they were “concerned only with foods and drinks.”

The “foods and drinks” are those things presented to God as sacrifices, gifts, and offerings. They included animal, grain, and wine offerings of various sorts and for various reasons, such as peace offerings, thank offerings, and so forth. Some of these were partially eaten by the priests, some were shared between the Lord and the offerer, and so on.

The “various washings” included washings by the people, by the priests, and even of the sacrifices – all accomplished according to laws prescribed within the law itself. An example for the people would be the washing of oneself after touching the carcass of anything. That is seen in Leviticus 11. An example of a priestly washing would, according to the ordination rites for priests, be found in Exodus 40:12. An example of washing the sacrifices is that of washing the entrails of a burnt offering in Leviticus 1:13. There is seemingly an innumerable number of such washings recorded for various reasons.

These are the “fleshly ordinances” (note that the word “and” is not in the original Greek. It is superfluous and should be omitted. This simply describes the previous thoughts and is not a separate thought). They did nothing to change the people internally, and they were merely symbolic parables looking forward to their fulfillment in Christ. To understand that, literally, every single detail of these things points to the Person and work of Jesus Christ, take the next year or so and watch all of the Superior Word sermons in order from Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. You will see how these fleshly ordinances look to spiritual truths revealed in Christ.

From there, the author says that they were “imposed until the time of reformation.” The word “time” here is kairos. It signifies a particular point in time marked as “the right moment.” God instituted the law in order to effect certain understandings into the minds of the people. However, the law was never meant as a means to an end, except concerning its fulfillment in Christ. Once that was accomplished, then the “time of reformation” could come about. The word translated as “reformation” is one which indicates “to straighten thoroughly.” It is a straightening of something to its natural condition. In this case, it is speaking of the messianic restoration of all things. For those who trust in Christ, that restoration is realized in the sense that all of these shadows practiced under the law are actually accomplished for us in His work. However, such has not yet occurred for Israel. That time lies yet ahead.

These rituals went on, with periods of interruption during the exile and at other times, for about 1500 years. Eventually, though, Christ came and fulfilled His ministry – a ministry which replaced all of these temporary regulations forever. After His fulfillment of the law, there was an overlap of time where the temple still stood in Jerusalem. That finally ended in AD 70 at the destruction of the temple. However, according to Daniel 9:24-27, there are still seven more years offered to the nation of Israel for them to “finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy” (Daniel 9:24, NIV). Even now, the people have prepared the implements for temple worship and each year they attempt to conduct sacrifices on the Temple Mount. In time, it will occur as prophesied. Sadly, they’ve missed the fact that these rituals point to the Person of Jesus.

Life application: Though the time of the reformation spoken of here is realized for the believer in Christ, we have to trust that this is so. Do we accept the premise that we are not required to do the things of the law, or do we fall back on the law (in part or in whole) in an attempt to please God? The Bible says that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for all who believe. Is that something we truly accept? If so, then you must not go back to the law in an attempt to please God. Stand fast on Christ’s complete and final fulfillment of everything necessary to reconcile us to God.

Lord, may You open the eyes of the world to the truth of who Jesus is and why He came. We pray especially for the people of Israel who have, for so long, failed to see that their Messiah has already come and that He is even now holding out His hands to them in love. May Christ Jesus be seen for who He truly is, and may many come to a saving knowledge of Him! Amen.

Saturday, 29 December 2018

It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— Hebrews 9:9

These words are referring to the sacrifices that were still being conducted at the temple in Jerusalem. If you read it in other translations, you’ll see how various translators choose to state it. Some put it in the tense of “was” and “are;” others choose “is” and “were;” while others choose both verbs to be present tense. Translators choose to decide such things based on what they already believe concerning the 1) date of the original letter, or 2) if the letter was written to Christians in general or to first century Jewish believers in Christ, or 3) that the words are set from the eternal perspective of Scripture where what is stated, even if accomplished, continues on as if in the present tense.

The NKJV is most surely correct because it places the tenses as “was” and “are.” “Was” refers to the state of the sacrifices from their inception, even to the time of the letter. “Are” indicates these sacrifices were ongoing at the time of the letter (the temple had not yet been destroyed), but also because of the eternal perspective of Scripture.

And though the letter was certainly written to first-century Jewish believers, it also will apply to those Jews who will be alive when the temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. Should they return to these rites and rituals? The author would emphatically tell them, “No.”

Understanding these things, he says, “It was symbolic for the present time.” Here, the word translated as “symbolic” is parabole. It is the same word translated as “parable” in the gospels. The author is saying that the things of the Old Covenant – such as the layout, structure, and materials of the sanctuary, all of the rites associated with that sanctuary, and even the days associated with those rites (such as the Day of Atonement) were teaching aids and living lessons which only figuratively pointed to what Christ would do.

He was writing to a Hebrew audience that had heard of Christ, but which was dealing with the decision of whether they should continue to adhere to temple rituals as well as following Christ. Did they need to make offerings for sin at the temple as prescribed by law? Again, the answer would be, “No.” He then continues by saying of the offerings, “in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered.” The words, “in which,” are referring to those things which are symbolic. A better rendering would be, “according to which.” As noted, the present tense is correct. The temple still stood, and there were Jews who were confused about what to do concerning making gifts and offerings in order to be right with God. And what does he continue saying about those offerings? That they “cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience.”

The words, “him who performed the service,” are speaking of the person coming with his offering, not the priest. The person who takes such a gift or offering to the temple is performing a service in hopes of cleansing his conscience. However, it is not possible that this could happen. The reason why is because as soon as he turned around and walked away from the offering which was intended to cleanse, he might sin again in some way, even before he stepped outside the temple area. If he was honest, he would go get another animal and hurry back to the priest to have the sin corrected. Such a stream of sacrifices would, literally, be never-ending. Unless there was a one-time for all-time Sacrifice, no person would ever dare to leave the area around the temple. Sin in man is that deeply entrenched. The very thoughts in his head are vile and require atonement.

The author will continue with this thought in the next verse, and then he will contrast what is stated here by showing the infinitely superior work of Christ, and its effect for the believer under the New Covenant.

Life application: It’s important to study and understand where translators have done a poor job and why. As the memo in the preface to the original 1611 King James Version says, a “variety of Translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures.” The reason is, “They that are wise, had rather have their judgments at liberty in differences of readings, than to be captivated to one, when it may be the other.” In other words, if someone sticks dogmatically to a single translation he is unwise. Translators are fallible, and therefore by studying and contemplating multiple translations, one is much more readily able to properly follow what is being said and why. This really is important because the wording and terminology used in the original languages is often difficult at best and sometimes completely unknown to modern scholars.

Lord, how truly blessed we are to live in a day where Your word is translated into thousands of languages; and in some languages many times. We have study tools in abundance including commentaries, devotionals, computer programs, and more. Help us to use these to search out the wonders of Your word! May our knowledge of You be a joyous, lifelong pursuit! Amen.