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Psalms 136:13-26 To Him who
divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever; And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who led His
people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who struck down great kings, For His
mercy endures forever; And slew
famous kings, For His mercy endures
forever—Sihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever; And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever—And gave their land
as a heritage, For His mercy endures
forever; A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever. Who remembered us in
our lowly state, For His mercy endures
forever; And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever; Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to
the God of heaven! For His mercy endures
forever.
Father God, we exalt and magnify You! Your
mercy endures forever and we are so grateful for that. Bless us and our loved ones,
and open our hearts to your Word. We pray and ask for this in Jesus name, Amen!
Book of Hebrews 7:20-28 NKJV
Before
I get started with this week’s lessons I want to make sure something is clear
that was stated in last week’s lesson. A statement was made that when Jesus
died on the Cross the New Covenant commenced and the Old Covenant died. Under
the New Covenant we live by faith, therefore the laws of the Old Covenant are
dead, done away with. Some questions have been raised and some people are
thinking the Ten Commandments were abolished by this statement. In a sense they
were for a believer, because a Born Again Christian lives by faith and relies
on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide them in all they think, say, and
do. It is the Holy Spirit within that brings on great conviction in a believer
and keeps him living a holy life, although being sinners that we are, the
believers will still stumble from time to time and sin and then be so
remorseful, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they will go to the
Lord, repent, and ask forgiveness.
The
Laws of the Old Covenant was actually made up in three parts, the Civil, the
Ceremonial, and the Moral laws. The Moral Laws are the Ten Commandments, and
these are just as alive today as they were 4,000 years ago. Even today the Ten
Commandments are designed to point an individual toward God and salvation. When
a person accepts Jesus as their Saviour, Jesus sends the Comforter (Holy
Spirit) to the person. When we repent and ask Jesus to forgive us, our body
becomes a temple of God where the Holy Spirit takes up residence and starts
guiding the newly born Saint. 1
Corinthians 3:16 Do you not
know that you are the temple of God and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you? 2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of
the living God. As God has said: "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG
THEM. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." A truly Born Again person lives by
faith in Jesus totally comprehending what and why Jesus had to come to earth
and sacrifice Himself for us, and then believe with all their heart that Jesus
rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven where He is seat at the right hand of
God Almighty. So in a sense do you see that a child of God that lives by faith
doesn’t need to worry about the Ten Commandments, because if their faith is
where it is suppose to be, in the works of the Cross, and the Holy Spirit will
guide them? Are the Ten Commandments alive? Yes and No.
The
other two parts of the Old Covenant, Civil and Ceremonial, were definitely done
away with. When the veil was ripped open it was a sign that we no longer needed
a priest to intercede for us, and this is the point that Paul is trying to get
the Hebrew people to see and understand. 1 John 2:1 My little
children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone
sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. There was no longer a need for the
rituals the priest performed whether it is Paul’s era or today, because with
the veil being removed we can go directly to Jesus for all that we need.
Scripture tells us He is our advocate and only He is our advocate between us
and God because Jesus is our High Priest just like the high priest of the Old
Covenant were that interceded for the people. Jesus replaced the Levitical
priesthood system and all of the ritualistic ceremonies.
I hope
this clears up the confusion because I don’t want someone to go around quoting
me that the Ten Commandments were abolished and it is ok to live a life of sin
by breaking them. They aren’t, they are alive today, although with today’s
society and worldly events, you might think different.
So
let’s get into this week’s lesson.
20 And
inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath
This verse and the next
verse go together, but I want to address this verse by itself. You have to read
the next verse to understand what is being said and if you don’t it can lead a
person astray. “He” is referring to Jesus, and He was made a High Priest by
God. God took an oath that Jesus, our
High Priest, would last for eternity because Jesus is eternal. The
priests of the Levitical order were only temporary because when they died their
priesthood ended. There was no oath, they were appointed from man by man into
the high priesthood through the Civil Laws of the Jewish people. This shows the
inferiority of the Aaronic Priesthood to that of Melchizedek. What God says is
true and will last forever without any changes.
Jesus was made a Priest
due to the fact of what He did, in being sinless and offering up Himself as a Sacrifice.
This means that He was not always a Priest, but became such, because of His
atoning Work at the Cross.
A Priest, in the truest
sense of the word, is a mediator between God and men; however, he is a mediator
only by the virtue of blood sacrifice that he does. Jesus, by offering up of
Himself as a Sacrifice, which means that He did it willingly and freely, and
done on behalf of mankind, which in fact no other priest could do, placed Him
in a position unequaled in the chronicles of human history.
21 (for they
have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to
Him: "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT RELENT, 'YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK' "),
(for they have become priests without
an oath; This is
referring to the Levitical priests.
But He with an oath; This is referring to Jesus becoming
our High Priest.
By
Him who said to Him: "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT RELENT, 'YOU ARE A
PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK' "); The first part of this phrase, “by
Him”, is referring to God. This quotation from the Old Testament we have
studied, but I want to point out the word, “relent”. Relent is defined as; not
giving in or changing one’s mind; yielding, giving up, surrendering, or take a
softer stance. What is said by God is true and steadfast without compromise and
it will come to pass and last forever.
As human beings many times
we say things that we really don’t mean and often people tend to change their
mind. We all probably know people like this or have experienced change in the
workplace. Some workplaces it seems that each day brings change. As human beings
we are fickle and tend to change our minds, but God is steadfast in His word
and when God gives His Word, it will not change. He is the same today as He was
yesterday, and will remain the same. In fact this is the third oath in this
epistle that God has declared. 1) An oath of not entering His rest in Hebrews 3:11 So in My anger I took an oath: 'They will
never enter My place of rest.'" 2) An oath of consolation in Hebrews 6:18 So God has
given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because
it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for
refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
3) An oath of
consecration in Hebrews
7:20-21 This new system was
established with a solemn oath. Aaron's descendants became priests without such
an oath, 21
but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to Him, "The LORD has
taken an oath and will not break His vow: 'You are a priest forever.'"
Our God is immutable,
in other word unchangeable.
22 by so
much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
This
verse is telling us that what Jesus did on the Cross for us so that we can live
by faith and not by keeping the law is much better. The law had to be kept 100%
of the time. If one fails in one aspect of the law they fail in all of the law.
So it is humanly impossible to keep the law perfectly. Living by faith is much
better, therefore a better covenant.
The
key word in this verse is “surety” meaning guarantee. Surety declares the New
Covenant is a guarantee and will remain forever. We don’t have to worry about
it being forever, because God proclaim that Jesus is a Priest according to the
order of Melchizedek, which is for eternity.
23 Also
there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.
Also there were many priests; This phrase
is referring to the Levitical priests. There were many of them from the time
span of when the Levitical priesthood was instituted with Aaron being the first
till Jesus death on the Cross.
Because they were prevented by death
from continuing; As stated previously the Levitical priesthood was only
temporary and pointed to the ultimate sacrifice for us, Jesus Christ.
24 But He,
because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
But
He; He meaning Jesus.
Because
He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood; Jesus is eternal and will be our High
Priest/King now and for eternity. He is the Alpha and Omega! He is God and the
Son!
Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning
and the end," says the Lord God. "I am the One who is, who always
was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One." Revelation
21:6 And He also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the
Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from
the springs of the water of life. Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,
the Beginning and the End."
25 Therefore
He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
No one can add to what
Jesus did to save us; our past, present, and future sins are all forgiven
(Provided we keep our faith in the Works of the Cross), and Jesus is with the
Father as a sign that our sins are forgiven. As our High Priest, Christ is our
Advocate, the mediator between us and God. He looks after our interests and
intercedes for us with God. The Old Testament high priest went before God once
a year to plead for the forgiveness of the nation's sins; Christ makes
perpetual intercession before God for us. Christ's continuous presence in
heaven with the Father assures us that our sins have been paid for and forgiven
(see Romans 8:33-34; Hebrews 2:17-18;
Hebrews 4:15-16; Hebrews 9:24). This wonderful assurance frees us from guilt and from
fear of failure.
26 For such
a High Priest was fitting for us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become
higher than the heavens;
For
such a High Priest was fitting for us; Jesus was and is the type of High Priest that we needed.
Being God, He was perfect in all aspects, therefore it was only fitting that He
became man to redeem mankind.
Who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners; Even though Jesus took the penalty for sin, He never sinned, which
completely destroys the doctrine that some have that “Jesus died spiritually.” While Jesus did die physically, He did not
die spiritually. He was separate from sinners when He came to this world, He lived
separate from sinners in His earthly life, but yet suffered the penalty of the
sinner on the Cross, which was death. In fact, He could not have suffered such
a penalty, which would have been accepted by God, had He not been sinless. The
Sacrifice had to be perfect.
And
has become higher than the heavens; Jesus
is higher than the heavens because He is the Saviour. God exalted Him and has given
Him a name above all names. Philippians
2:8-11 And being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every
name, 10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of
those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
27 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.
Who
does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for
His own sins and then for the people's; Refers to the daily Sacrifices offered by the Levitical Priests
under the old Jewish nation, that were imperfect and had to be repeated.
For
this He did once for all when He offered up Himself; Blood was demanded as atonement for
sin, and God accepted animal blood to cover the people's sin Leviticus
17:11. Because of the
sacrificial system, the Israelites were generally aware that sin costs someone
something and that they themselves were sinful. Many people take Christ's work
on the cross for granted. They don't realize how costly it was for Jesus to
secure our forgiveness, it cost him his life, and painful temporary separation
from his Father Matthew 27:46.
Because Jesus died “once for all”, he brought the
sacrificial system to an end. He forgives sins, past, present, and future when we
are Born Again John 3:3.
28 For the
law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath,
which came after the law, appoints
the Son who has been perfected forever.
For
the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness; This refers to the Old Covenant, the Jewish
way of life where man appoints man to be priests.
But
the word of the oath; This
is referring to God; remember the oaths God has taken?
Which
came after the law; Refers
to Jesus death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven (New Covenant) where
He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Appoints the Son who has been
perfected forever; God
appointed His Son Jesus Christ as High Priest for eternity after the order of Melchizedek.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
The Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer;
Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all
of my sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
