A Study in Hebrews Week 9

Hebrews Chapter 09

Many people seem to think that the New Testament is just an extension of the Old Testament. That's what the Judaizers of Galatia thought. They were dead wrong. They thought that since the Old Testament had certain rules, that Christians had to follow those rules. They thought Christians had to be circumcised. They thought Christians had to worship according to an Old Covenant pattern. They thought Christians had to tithe their income. They thought the Old Covenant was still applicable. As we saw in Hebrews 8:13, the Old Covenant has been made obsolete. 

Hebrews 9 lays out some very specific distinctions between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 

The Verses

Verse 1 – Here we see a contrast being set up to distinguish the “earthly” sanctuary from the heavenly sanctuary. We also see the contrast between the “first” covenant (Old Covenant) and the New Covenant.

Verse 2 – The tabernacle is used to picture the spiritual. Here we see the floor plan and the furniture. God is always organized and concerned with details. Check out the detail He laid out for the building of the temple in 1 Kings 6.

Verses 3-4 – The “Golden censer” (KJV) is the Most Holy Place. It is an altar of incense. It speaks of prayer.

Verse 5 – Paul (whom I believe wrote Hebrews as a commentary on Romans to the Jews) does not want to go into detail about the tabernacle because it is not the subject. The subject is the priesthood…specifically the priesthood of Christ.

Verses 6-10 – The “Holy of Holies” was a temporary, makeshift arrangement. Only Christ can bring us to God (John 14:6)

Verse 11 – The better tabernacle does not belong to this natural creation.  The better tabernacle is both spiritual and literal…it is real. It is, in fact, not an "it," but a "who." His name is Jesus.

Verse 12 – Christ did not depend on the blood of animals, but on His own blood. “…having obtained eternal redemption…” is not a reference to Christ being redeemed, but of the completeness of His work to obtain redemption for His redeemed. His is a superior sacrifice to the earthly sacrifices of animals.

Verses 13-14 – If the blood of animals could produce redemption, there would have been no reason for Christ to die on the cross.

Verse 15 – Christ is now the mediator of the New Covenant.

Verses 16-17 – When we make a will, it does no good while we are yet alive. So Christ’s will was “made active” through his sacrificial death.

Verses 18-22 – The word “blood” occurs six times in this section. There was the ritualistic blood of the Old Testament contrasted with the saving power of the blood of Christ under the New Covenant.

Verse 23 – Earthly things need cleansing because of “original sin.” The Old Testament holy sacraments,  artifacts and ceremonies were only pictures of the spiritual things to come.

Verse 24 – Christ did not enter heaven through earthly, man-made sacrifices, but through the perfect sacrifice of Himself. It is through Him that we, too, must enter the heavenly sanctusry.

Verse 25 – The priest had to repeatedly enter the sanctuary.

Verse 26 – Christ entered only once…and that for eternity.

Verse 27 – Christ had failed to save in His death at His first coming, there would be nothing afterward but judgment. He is not coming back to die.

Verse 28 – This is not a reference to the Rapture, but His coming as Sovereign to

judge the earth. Believers will not come into judgment.

A study in Hebrews week 8 - One Obsolete, One New

Hebrews 8:1-13 – An Overview

For centuries, devout Jews had been operating under the Old, Mosaic Covenant, but now they were being told by Jesus and the apostles that things had changed. They could not claim to have been uninformed that such a dramatic change was coming. The Old Testament writers had prophesied that a New Covenant was coming, one that was vastly superior to the Old. One such prophet was Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31:31-34 is the longest Old Testament citation to be found in the New Testament. The New Covenant is the subject of our text in Hebrews 8 (and beyond). It is yet another reason why the high priestly ministry of our Lord is vastly superior to that of the Aaronic order since the high priest must carry out the terms of the covenant under which he serves.

Jeremiah 31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. 34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

This same text is repeated in Hebrews 8:8-12. This alone should be enough to show us the supreme importance of the New Covenant. If more is needed, consider I Corinthians 11:25.

This cup is the New Covenant in my blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. Notice it does not say, "This cup is my blood," it says, This cup is the new covenant of my blood" 

Also consider Luke 22:20. ''And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood'” 

When Christ spilled His blood at Calvary, He was fulfilling the Law and establishing forever this new agreement between God and His creation.

The Mosaic Covenant was a bilateral, conditional, covenant: “And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5). The New Covenant is a series of promises that God made to Israel and Judah, promises which are unchangeable and irreversible, since they are sealed by God’s oath. These promises make the New Covenant vastly superior to the Old Covenant, so much so that the New Covenant replaces the Old, making it obsolete.

The author of Hebrews tells us that the New Covenant is better than the Old (the Mosaic Covenant), among other reasons because it contains better promises.

Hebrews 8:6 But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. 8 But showing its fault, God says to them, . . .” 

In other words, the author (whom I believe to be Paul) says that  the only reason for a “new” covenant is that the “old” covenant is flawed in some way.

How can a covenant be flawed? You can be sure that God did not flaw the covenant.

A covenant is an agreement; usually it is between two parties. There are two types of covenants in the Bible. Some of the covenants were bilateral in that there were obligations and commitments for both sides. The other kind of covenant in the Bible is a unilateral covenant. It is a covenant in which God binds Himself to do certain things, but not conditioned upon the actions of others. This is the type of covenant we find in the New Covenant.

The Old Covenant will not save anybody, no matter how great his or her determination to keep it. It will only condemn them. What, then, was wrong with the Old Covenant? The New Testament tells us. The problem with the Old Testament law is not with the law itself, for it sets forth a standard of righteousness that is holy, righteous, and good:

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12).

The problem with the Old Covenant was on man’s side, not God’s. Thus, while the Mosaic Covenant would be broken by Israel and could never save anyone, the Israelites’ hope was to be in God, based upon His covenant with Abraham.

When we come to the New Testament, we find that God’s salvation in Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant, as the result of our Lord’s work at Calvary. Put differently, it is by means of the New Covenant that God’s promises to Abraham were fulfilled when we come to the New Testament, we find that God’s salvation in Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant, as the result of our Lord’s work at Calvary. Put differently, it is by means of the New Covenant that God’s promises to Abraham were fulfilled:

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has come to help and has redeemed his people. 69 For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 He has done this to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant – 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.

Under the New Covenant, God does all of the “work.”  He has bound Himself to bestow salvation on those who know Him with no work to be done by them. It is a covenant of pure grace. Not just grace in some areas of spiritual life, but grace in every area of spiritual life!

Hebrews Chapter 08

Chapter 7:25 begins the high water mark of Hebrews He died down here to save us; He lives up there to keep us saved. He is able to keep on saving us. “To the uttermost” is all the way through; completely; perfectly. “Intercession” is intervention. “We shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10).

The Verses

Verses 1-5 – “The true tabernacle.” He is the real/general tabernacle. A priest must offer gifts and sacrifices. Christ offers gifts and sacrifices. Christ did not offer gifts and sacrifices on earth. On earth HE was the sacrificial Lamb of God.

The earthly priesthood was a shadow (a picture) of the tabernacle of Heaven. Christ serves in the real tabernacle (Hebrew: משכן‎, mishkan, "residence" or "dwelling place").

Here we have a better sacrifice, a better priest, and a better tabernacle. He died down here to save us; He lives above to keep us saved.

Verses 6-13 – There are two covenants. Christ is the Mediator of the better covenant…the NEW COVENANT.

The first covenant was not adequate. It sought a righteousness grounded in the Law.

In Romans we learned that if we depend on the Law of the Old Testament we are doomed. Romans 3:21-23 – “But now a righteousness from God, apart from the Law has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteous from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

There is nothing wrong with the Old Covenant, but it could only save perfect people. Romas 3: 20 – “Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin.”

The New Covenant causes people to be seen as perfect by God through Christ’s eyes when we place our faith in Him, His death, burial and resurrection.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 told us that the New Covenant was coming. 31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The church (a group of people redeemed from sin by Christ’s sacrificial death) is the beneficiary of the New Covenant. The Greek word "ecclesia," is correctly understood as: "The called-out (ones), "

Verse 13 is important: By calling this covenant ‘new,’ He has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

We are bound by the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant…and that should be shouting ground!

Which Do You Choose?

You can live under God's new deal or you can live under His old deal, but you cannot live under both.

God's old deal was called the Old Covenant. It was a covenant of law, behaviorism, guilt and condemnation.

God's new deal is called the New Covenant. It is a covenant of grace and mercy. It uses the Old Covenant to show why we need a Messiah. It is the covenant in which God has provided that Messiah.

Under the old deal, you had to know and abide by the Mosaic Law, which included the Ten Commandments and some 600 other rules and regulations. If you did so, so they thought, you would please God and He would accept you. (That was never the way it was intended to work, but that's the way the religious leaders interpreted it to the people...likely to preserve their leadership and power,)

Under the new deal, Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law, the rules and the regulations. Get it? He fulfilled them. Why? Because we could not.

Also under the new deal, Jesus provided the way of salvation based on the grace of God and His unending mercy. If you have repented of sin and trusted in, and only in, the sufficiency of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, you will be saved and released from the requirements of the old deal.

Goody! Goody! Now we can do as we please and God will turn a blind eye to our sin!

Sorry. It does not work that way. If you have truly repented and trusted in Christ, and if you understand what you have done in doing so, you are overwhelmed with the mercy He has shown you and can only love Him more each day for what He did for you. You cannot love Christ and want to do what He does not want you to do...and you will KNOW what that is. If you don't love Him more each day, and if you don't KNOW what He wants you to do, you are not saved.

Frankly, since you cannot abide by the terms of the old deal, you would do well to accept the terms of the new deal. It's free, it's eternal and by it you live in and with Christ forever.

What is the Lord's Supper About?

Did you have “communion” in worship today? Communion is also known as the Lord’s Supper. Have you heard the event called “celebrating the Lord’s supper?” How accurate is that? Are we really supposed to celebrate the supper?

(For purposes of this post, the term “Lord’s Supper” will be used.)

The Lord’s Supper references the last time the disciples ate with Jesus. It was Passover, but the bread and wine did not represent just another Passover meal in the minds of the disciples (whose heritage was Jewish). There was much more to it than that.

Passover commemorates the time when the blood of a lamb was painted over the door frames to signify the faith of the inhabitants of the house. When the Lord was going to strike dead the first-born of every Egyptian household, He promised to spare the children of faithful Jews. The whole thing was preliminary to Pharaoh’s releasing Israel and the parting of the Red Sea.

At the “Passover Seder,” faithful Jews eat a meal in a particular order. Each course of the meal represents a different part of the Passover story. The meal would include Maror (bitter herbs), Charoses (fruit, nuts, wine and cinnamon), Beitzah (a roasted egg) Karpas (a vegetable) Zeroah (roasted lamb) and Wine. During the meal, they drink four cups of wine, the third of which is the cup of redemption. This is the same place the cup was presented at the Last Supper. The fourth cup is not drunk, but is left for Elijah, the prophet.

The bread of the Passover meal was the “Afikomen.” It was the middle Matza, which is pulled out and broken in two. Half is wrapped in white linen and the other half is eaten at the end of the meal. The bread was unleavened, as leaven represents sin.

Accounts of the last supper are found in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 13. John alone records a lengthy discourse Jesus delivers to the disciples on this occasion (and a prayer on behalf of the disciples and all future believers); it continues through chapter 17. Another account occurs in 1 Corinthians 11.

In each instance of the Lord’s Supper recorded in the Bible, the Matza and the third cup of wine is used to illustrate Jesus’ sacrificial death. Instead of bread broken in half, we have Jesus’ body broken for us. Instead of blood on the doorposts, we have blood shed on a cross.

Too often the Bible is read in accordance with what we've been taught or in accordance with what seems to “make sense” to us. The account of the Lord’s Supper is an example. What the elements of the Lord’s Supper represent is not left to conjecture, Jesus is clear. But He is often (or perhaps usually) misquoted or misunderstood.

The part about the broken bread is usually gotten right (if you don’t count the Catholic’s contention that the bread actually becomes a piece of Jesus’ body - Transubstantiation). In each account, Jesus says, “This is my body…” (Except for John, who emphasizes the washing of feet as a symbol of love and service). Matthew and Mark leave it at that. Luke adds the phrase “…given (or broken) for you.” 

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says “…which is for you” In each case, it is clear that the bread represents the body of Christ.

The part about the wine is another matter. It is usually read as thought is says, “This wine represents my blood.” It does represent His blood, but not as the complete meaning of the account.

Matthew uses the phrase, “…blood of the covenant.” Mark says, “…of the covenant.” Luke says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood…” Paul’s account reads, “This cup is the new covenant…”

A pastor once noted that when God says something once it is important. When He says something twice, it is very important. When He says something three times, you’d better listen and if He says it four times or more, you’d be stupid to ignore it.

Four times Jesus refers to the blood of the New Covenant.

What is this New Covenant? It is the complete fulfillment of the Old Covenant in the person of Jesus, Christ. According to Hebrews 8:13, the Old Covenant no longer applies; it is obsolete…done. When Christ was on the cross, He did not cry out, “It is almost done!” He did not cry out, “Just a few more things to do!” Jesus did not cry out, “I've done most of the work, now you do your part!” He cried out “IT…IS…FINISHED!”

With Jesus’ death, the New Covenant was ushered in. Whereas under the Old Covenant there were certain foods that were unclean, under the New Covenant, all foods are allowed (Acts 10:9-16). Under the Old Covenant, obedience was blessed, disobedience was cursed. Under the New Covenant, God will NEVER curse one of His children. Under the Old Covenant, the Law was written in stone and carried around in a box. Under the New Covenant, God’s Law is written in our hearts…no box required.

The next time you celebrate communion or the Lord’s supper, remember the emphasis that Jesus put on His blood being the blood of the New Covenant. Without the Christ of the New Covenant, you are lost.

Are you a "Godian" or a Christian?

Most people (including many pastors) who think of themselves as Christians make a distinction between God and Christ, often without realizing it. They speak of God, especially when reading or teaching from the Old Testament, as a sort of deity similar to Allah or Buddha only greater.

Let me be clear. God is not merely superior to Allah or Buddha, He is God and they are not. Allah is an evolution of the fabled moon god and Buddha was just an Asian philosopher. God is the sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator of all that is. Jesus is His equal, and is a part of Him.

You see, God the Father is not Jesus, He is not the Holy Spirit, but He is God. God the Son is not the Father; He is not the Holy Spirit, but He is God. God the Holy Spirit is not the Father; He is not the Son, but He is God. To speak of one as noninclusive of the other is blasphemy and heresy.  

God manifests Himself Biblically in three persons, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but as only one God. He always has, does now and always will. He was present in three persons in Genesis 1:1; He was present in three persons in Revelation 22:21 and He is present in three persons now.

The function of the Holy Spirit is not to do things for us, but to point us to Christ. The purpose of Christ is not to perform miracles for us, but to intercede for us to the Father. The Father is referred to as the "Godhead." That includes Christ and the Holy Spirit.

When we close our prayers with the phrase "in Jesus' name," we are not just tacking an incantation on the end of our prayer, we are reaffirming that Christ is the one in whom we trust for our salvation and who brings us into right relationship with the Father; an eternal relationship.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him (Christ) to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)

That triune God made covenants with His chosen people, Israel. There were seven of them, collectively referred to as the Old Covenant. They were: the Edenic Covenant, the Adamic Covenant, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Palestinian (Land) Covenant and the Davidic Covenant. 

Those covenants applied to Israel, not to Christians (whether Hebrew or Gentile). Christians have no relationship to God through the Old Covenant. Their relationship to God is through, and only through, the New Covenant, who is Christ.

When we preach or teach from the Old Testament (which is the record of the Old Covenant), we are preaching and teaching from the section that applied to the nation of Israel. That does not mean that it does not apply to Christians, but it applies to Christians in a very different way.

Hebrews 8:13 tells us that the Old Covenant is obsolete. Do you believe the whole Bible or just the parts you like? If you believe the whole Bible, you must accept Hebrews 8:13 and discover how it relates to the rest of Scripture. (If you don't accept Hebrews 8:13, which is a part of the Bible, you might as well throw the whole thing out, because if part of it is wrong, there is no part of it you can trust.)

The whole point of the "Hall of Faith" (Hebrews 11), as the logical conclusion of Hebrews 4-10, is that the Jews of the Old Covenant are saved the same way Christians are saved: by faith in Messiah (Christ). It was not their faith in Godianity that saved them. The Jews were saved by their faith in the coming Messiah. Gentiles and Messianic Jews are saved by faith in the Christ of the New Covenant (a concept Jews would readily understand). 

Every word, phrase, verse, chapter and book of the Old Testament is about the Christ of the New Covenant. When we preach or teach from it, we MUST discover and relate HOW that section applies to the coming New Covenant, or we miss the point, in effect, lying about its meaning and application.

For instance, the story of David and Goliath is not the story of good over evil. It is not the story of "one person plus God equals a majority." It is not the story of God enabling David to defeat Goliath with a stone. The story of David and Goliath is an Old Testament picture of how God would overcome sin (the Philistines) through His Christ of the New Covenant.

If one reads the story apart from the context of all Scripture, that will never be the point of the story. But when it is read in the context OF Scripture, it can have no other meaning.

So! Are you a "Godian" or a Christian? If you are a "Godian," you are lost. You need to come to Christ, the person who is the New Covenant. You must place your faith in, and only in, His finished work at the cross of Calvary. Only He can cause you to "...rise up on wings as eagles" and enable you to enter Heaven for all of eternity.

When Will the Church EVER Learn Its Freedom in Christ in ALL Areas?

The theme of Galatians is "Freedom In Christ." Christians like to claim that freedom when it is convenient for them. At other times, they prefer the legalism of the Old Covenant. Nowhere is that more evident than in the area of giving. Many churches and preachers insist on being bound by the Old Covenant concept of tithing.

Is it curious that at no point in Paul's writings is the tithe put forward as a guideline for giving (refute that if you can)? In fact, no New Testament writer either encourages "tithing" under the New Covenant or presents it as the normative or even occasional practice of the church. Yet many of our churches assume that this is the accepted New Testament standard. Those churches either do not believe in the New Covenant (who is Christ) or are too fearful to accept its teaching.

Under Mosaic Law, Israel was commanded to give a tenth of its crops, herds, flocks and the fruit of its trees to support the Levites, who had no inheritance of their own (Leviticus 27:30-32; Numbers 18:21-24). The tithe was to compensate the Levites for the work that they did while serving at the tabernacle.

Abraham gave a tithe, and he was "pre-Law." But he was not required to tithe. He was, however, a part of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant has been rendered obsolete (either that or Hebrews 8:13 is untrue - in which case we will have to decide which parts of the Bible ARE true).

(Side Note: For this post the term "Old Covenant" is used to collectively refer to the Edamic Covenant; the Adamic Covenant; the Abrahamic Covenant; the Noahic Covenant; the Mosaic Covenant; the Palestinian Covenant and the Davidic Covenant.)

Jesus refers to the Pharisees' custom of tithing even herbs of the land (such as mint, anise and cumin) while neglecting the weightier matters of justice and love of God (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). He was talking to Jews, not His followers.

The guidelines for giving that Paul puts forward are in accord with a Covenant of the Spirit not with a Covenant of the Letter (2 Cor 3:6). The standard proffered by the New Covenant is a higher one than a tithe. It is 100%, not 10%. Paul instructs the Corinthians that they are to set aside a sum of money each week "in keeping with" their income (literally, "however one has prospered").

Jesus had high praise for the widow who contributed two small copper coins to the temple treasury. She gave that which provided for her daily necessities: "all she had to live on," (Luke 21:4), while the rich contributed out of their surplus. And while the Pharisees may have given 10 percent, proportionately, the widow put in more than all of them combined (Luke 21:3).

In the final analysis, the key to giving lies in the attitude of the heart. In 2 Corinthians 8:12 and 9:7, Paul characterizes the attitude that God finds acceptable.

It must be a willing gift: if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable (2 Corinthians 8:12). It is not the amount that counts with God. If a readiness to give is present, then the gift is gladly received, whether it be large or small.

The gift must also not be offered "reluctantly" or "under compulsion" - literally, "with pain" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The offering that God finds acceptable is one that has been cheerfully given (9:7; hilarosour English term "hilarious"). The cheerful giver is one who is happy to give and gives gladly and gives as much as is possible.

In the Body of Christ, those who possess a surplus who are in a position to meet existing economic needs. This is clear from 2 Corinthians 8:14, where Paul envisions the Jerusalem church's surplus providing for the Corinthians' lack at a future point.

In the wilderness of Exodus it was God who ensured the needs of the people. Under the New Covenant, God has given the responsibility to each believer.

When will we learn?

Probably never.