February 19, 2006
Scripture:
Scripture:
Let’s go back to Isaiah 50; we read v. 6 earlier. What makes a passage like this so profound is the fact that it was written hundreds of years before it took place. We have been reminded by our brother of One who was subject to all the abuses. The previous verses of Isaiah 50 are worth some meditation—v. 2: “Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.” We know who did this. “I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” (vv. 3 & 4). It seems as if there is a progression here: we start with thoughts of the Lord in all His heavenly deity, his omnipotence. Then we read of Him, not as God, but as man, getting daily guidance from His Father. When he was here, he was able to be a cheer to the weary. Verse 5 says, “The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” In Hebrews we have been looking at a similar phrase to this, quoted from Psalm 40. He was open to the will of God. When He came to earth he knew he was coming to die. And so we come to verse 6, the cross. The One who dried up the sea and clothed the sky “gave [his] back to the smiters.” Not only did he give his back to the smiters, he “loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Yes, he gave himself for you and me. That glorious person went to the shame of the cross, and is now Christ crowned with glory. “Glory, glory everlasting be to Him who bore the cross”—what a hymn to sing as we look at the One who “came from Godhead’s fullest glory, down to Calvary’s depths of woe.” May we sing unto him ceaseless praises.
EG Hymn 311– Children, can you tell me why Prayer Hebrews 2:8–10 • V. 8 ends by telling us what we cannot see; all things are not yet put under the Lord. But when the millennium comes, He will judge all his enemies and put everything under his feet. There is something we can see right now: Jesus. We can see Him as a man in the Word of God, when he was made lower than the angels. On Lord’s Day mornings, we can see Him in our hearts, dying for us on the cross, “the suffering of death.” But now he is “crowned with glory and honour.” It would have been wonderful to have been with the disciples at the Mount of Olives when the Lord ascended to his glory. Now, through faith, we can see Him in Heaven. Verse 10 tells us that all Christians are Sons of God. His work has put us in that position; His perfect sacrifice has made us perfect. When we “see Jesus” in this way, we should love him with all of our hearts for what he has done for us.
Hebrews 10:8–18 • We have been talking about the Will of God, one of our three hooks to hang our thoughts on (1.Will of God, 2. Work of Christ, 3. Witness of the Spirit). This will was determined in a past eternity. The Lord Jesus came to earth willing to do that will. God’s will was contrived before the law was even established. The law showed that man was unable to maintain a relationship with God on a basis of works. Because of this, God took away “the first” so he could establish “the second.” What was “the first”? The law, which we are told about in v. 11. This verse shows us how tedious the law really was. He took this away to establish that which is given in grace. V. 10 shows us that God’s will is not only to cleanse us of our sins but to sanctify us. What is sanctification? Well, salvation can be looked at as a package deal; in it are many components, such as forgiveness, justification, eternal life, righteousness, and so on. Sanctification is one of these components. It includes the thought of being set apart, but it is deeper. It means set apart for God’s use, something that is holy. There are two different main aspects for sanctification. We are looking at it here as meaning that after we are saved, we are set apart for God’s purposes; this is the positional aspect, our standing. There is also the progressive aspect, our state, which is how set apart to God we actually live. V. 10 in our chapter is speaking of the positional aspect. You can find these aspects of sanctification in the Old Testament as well. In Exodus 12 we have the Passover. We see that the blood of the lambs that were slain redeemed the firstborn in Egypt. In Exodus 13, God says, “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn.” He has just redeemed them. Here we learn that what God redeems, he claims. He sanctifies all the firstborns. We are the Lord’s purchased possession; our lives are now his. Because of this, our lives should change. It should not be that yesterday we were not saved, today we are, and there is no real outward difference. When we get saved, we get sanctified; this is a fact, as sure as salvation. But now there is the other aspect, our walk. We should go on with our Father. The second half of Hebrews 10 will give us some practical exhortations to progressive sanctification. • The work of Christ has done for us all that the sacrifices did for the children of Israel and more. Our High Priest is able to sit down at the right hand of God because his work is completed (v. 12) . Here he is making intersession for us; no one can condemn us because he is filling this position, we can see from Romans 8:33 & 34. He does not stop interceding for us while we are alive on earth. In Romans 8, we can see a double intercession: 1) the intercession of Christ in vv. 33 & 34; 2) the intercession of the Holy Spirit in vv. 26 & 27. An intercessor is one who represents someone else. The Holy Spirit represents God to us here, while the Lord Jesus represents us to God there. In this we can see that even after salvation and sanctification, God’s will is still for our blessing. The Lord has sat down because his work was perfect and complete; the Old Testament priests could never sit down because their work was never complete. Sitting down and making intercession is our Saviour’s present occupation. In the future, verse 13 tells us, he will make his enemies his footstool. When you think of the work of Christ and all the abuses he went through, it seems that the Lord was more of a Victim than a Victor. Yet when that day comes, he will be the Victor. EG Hymn 154– The atoning work is done, Prayer