August 7, 2005
Let us read a verse in Romans 8. I was thinking of these words as we read about Abraham; verse 32—“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” We could see that Abraham spared not his own son. But God the Father also spared not his own Son. He knew all that would happen to Him, but this did not stop Him from sparing not His Son. Oh, think of the intimacy of the Trinity, and yet somehow God the Father brought down the punishment for our sins on God the Son to complete a work most wonderful so that a holy and loving God can reach us and touch us and make us His own; all because He gave His only begotten Son. In other words, God spared not His Son so He could spare His enemies; think of it. Glory to God!
EG Hymn 362 – Two little eyes to look to God, Prayer • God has given us 5 different senses. We can hear a click, see someone wiggle their ears, feel a tap on the shoulder, smell someone baking bread, or taste a dessert. Some descriptive words can be used for more than 1 sense: for example, you can say that a cake is sweet, because you tasted it. But you could also say that a baby is sweet, not because you tasted her, but because you saw her. • We can have these senses in our hearts:
Hebrews 5:1–10 • We were noticing that the first 4 verses of Hebrews 5 were speaking about Aaron. They give a description of Aaron’s work; this was presented to us to show that in Christ we have something better. • Begotten—This is an interesting word. We use it in the gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son …” It is used in John 1:18. The only way to understand this word is to apply it to the Son of God. It means He was always and always will be the Son of God. His Sonship is eternal. The Greek word is μονογενής, monogenees (in English), a relationship that never had a beginning or an end. This word is used in John 1 & 3. A different word is used in Hebrews 5. That word, γεννάω, gennao speaks of His Sonship when he was on earth, starting when He was born. He was always the Son of God, but he was made Son in a new way when He was born. Some people think that when it says “This day have I begotten Thee”, it means that Jesus was not always God’s Son from a past eternity. “Son” means “likeness” (“the sons [likeness] of Belial”); it can also means “only one” or “darling”, showing the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son. • V. 6, for ever—Another contrast; the Old Testament High Priests were only priests till they died. Jesus is High Priest for ever. • The Aaronic Priesthood was for the wilderness. The Melchisedec priesthood was for the Promised Land. The Lord will be in the Melchisedec order in the Millennium. • Melchisedec is seen firstly in Genesis 14, after the battle of the 5 kings. This is like the Lord, Who will establish His priesthood after the order of Melchisedec at the beginning of the Millennium, after the battle of Armageddon. • The Aaronic priesthood was only for the Levites to partake in, and it was for this earth. The Melchisedec priesthood is for all Christians, and is for the new earth. A different time, different people and different place need a different Priesthood. • The Bible speaks of 3 priesthoods: 1. The Aaronic Priesthood—intercessory 2. The Phinehas Priesthood—acquired by work, Num. 25. 3. The Melchisedec Priesthood—blessing The Lord’s Priesthood of Melchisedec brings blessing to us because it is a combination of the Aaronic and the Phinehas. EG Hymn 169 – Blest be the tie that binds Prayer