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Scripture Reading: 9:6-8, 12, Heb. 9:14, 15; 5:9; 3:7-8; 10:15; 1:1-2a; 2:4; 10:29; 4:16; 6:4; 1:9; 12:9, 23; 4:12; 10:19
The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ is superior to Judaism and everything related to it. However, if we read this book carefully in the spirit, we will realize that it also deals with the indwelling Spirit. It is not a book of doctrinal teaching; rather, it is a book of experience in our spirit through the Holy Spirit.
Verse 14 of chapter 9 reveals a special title of the Holy Spirit. This verse says, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” This is the only place in the Bible that mentions the eternal Spirit. Verse 12 says that Christ entered into the Holy of Holies, having obtained an eternal redemption for us, and verse 15 says that those who have been called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Similarly, 5:9 says, “Having been perfected, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” These eternal items — an eternal redemption, the eternal inheritance, and eternal salvation — all take the eternal Spirit as the center.
Judaism is a religion with rituals and regulations in letters, but Christ is a living person with eternal life in the Spirit. The things of Judaism are simply shadows and figures of things to come, but Christ is the reality and the fulfillment of all the shadows and figures in the Old Testament. All these shadows and figures were only temporary and transitory, but Christ as the reality is eternal, perpetual forever. Moreover, the things in Judaism were only in letter, but Christ, the living One, offered Himself to God for an eternal redemption by the eternal Spirit so that we may partake of the eternal inheritance. This eternal inheritance is all the riches of the Godhead. By the eternal redemption of Christ, we have the right to the eternal inheritance. By the eternal Spirit, Christ is the Author, the source, and the cause of eternal salvation to us, and we enjoy Him as our eternal salvation. Therefore, in this book the Holy Spirit is the eternal Spirit. In order to experience all that is revealed in this book, we must know how to touch this eternal Spirit.
For something to be eternal does not only mean that it is everlasting. To be eternal spans all time and space and surpasses all time and space. Therefore, eternal redemption is a redemption that is perpetual and eternally effective to meet and surpass all needs throughout all time and space. In the same principle, eternal salvation is not a temporary or transitory salvation. Rather, it meets and surpasses all the needs of all time and space. Likewise, the Spirit is not only the all-inclusive Spirit with all the riches of Christ; He is also the eternal Spirit, who meets all our needs for all time and throughout all space, and His supply surpasses all time and space. This means that there is no need at any time or in any place that He cannot meet.
We have already considered several titles of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament: the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and the life-giving Spirit. Now we see that the Spirit is also the eternal Spirit. These are not seven different Spirits but one Spirit in different stages with different aspects. Please refer once again to the diagram in chapter 8. In eternity past He was the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2). Then in order to bring God into man, to bring the Holy One into humanity, He was the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20). Through the human living and death of Jesus, He became the Spirit of Jesus for doing the will of God through suffering and endurance (Acts 16:7). In Christ’s designation in resurrection, He became the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 1:4; 8:9). Through all this inclusively, He is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit for suffering in resurrection (Phil. 1:19). For coming into man to impart life to him, He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Moreover, He is the eternal Spirit, spanning and surpassing all space and time. Through this Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as an eternal sacrifice to accomplish an eternal redemption that we may enjoy the eternal inheritance. Therefore, He is the source of salvation to us, not a salvation that is temporary, partial, or limited but one that is eternal to meet all the needs for all time in all space. This is the Spirit unveiled in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of trial in the wilderness.’” According to verses 12 to 15, the Holy Spirit says that we need to take heed, be careful, and be on the alert that we do not have an evil heart of unbelief but rather that we exhort one another. The good land is a type of Christ as our rest, and Joshua as the companion to Caleb is a type of Christ as the One who brings us into the rest. Therefore, we must exhort one another to enter into Christ as our good land and to know Him as our Partner, our Companion (1:9; 3:14). To consider that entering into the rest is too difficult is to have an evil heart of unbelief as the people of Israel had. We must realize that today, as the all-inclusive and eternal Spirit, Christ is available to us. He is our good land, and He is our rest. Moreover, He is also our Joshua. If we will simply be the “Calebs” who have faith, we will enjoy Christ as our Companion to bring us into the rest. Therefore, there is no excuse for us not to enter into the rest.
The Spirit today is speaking in us to assure us that Christ is available as the good land and the rest into which we enter. It is not difficult to enter into the rest because by the eternal Spirit we are Christ’s companions and He is our Companion to bring us into the rest. In this way we partake of Him and enjoy Him to the extent that it is easy to enter in. The Spirit speaks in us that Christ is so available. To enter into Him is not difficult, because He is not only the land but also the real Joshua. He is not only the rest but also our Companion to bring us into the rest. The Spirit — the Holy One and the Eternal One — is constantly speaking this within us.
Verses 6 and 7 of chapter 9 say, “Now these things having been thus prepared, into the first tabernacle the priests enter continually, accomplishing their worship; but into the second, only the high priest enters, once a year and not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people.” These verses refer to the actions of the priests in the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. Verse 8 continues, “The Holy Spirit thus making this clear, that the way of the Holy of Holies has not yet been manifested while the first tabernacle still has its standing.” If we are in the spirit while we read concerning the things of the tabernacle, the Holy Spirit, the eternal Spirit who is not restricted by time or space, will speak to us and point out to us the real significance of these things.
Verses 11 and 12 say, “Christ, having come as a High Priest of the good things that have come into being, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption.” Then verses 14 and 15 say, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And because of this He is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, those who have been called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” These are not merely words spoken by man. These are the words spoken by the Holy Spirit, showing us how Christ offered Himself to God through the eternal Spirit, opening the way into the Holy of Holies and accomplishing an eternal redemption for us so that we may inherit all the riches of God. When we read these things in the spirit, the Holy Spirit will interpret them to us and point out the various aspects and riches of Christ in them.
Verse 10 of chapter 10 says, “By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Verses 12 through 16 continue, “This One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God, henceforth waiting until His enemies are made the footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after having said, ‘This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will inscribe them.’” While we read and consider the things concerning the work of Christ, the Holy Spirit testifies and witnesses within us that Christ is our High Priest, He has accomplished full redemption, our sins have been taken away, and the way into the Holy of Holies has been opened. His blood is effective, the sacrifice for sin which He offered is perpetual, and we now have boldness through His blood to enter into the Holy of Holies to contact God, obtain mercy, and find grace to meet our timely need. The Spirit who thus testifies is the eternal Spirit through whom Christ offered Himself to God. In this eternal and testifying Spirit we enjoy Christ as the Author of our eternal salvation.
In quoting from the Old Testament, most books of the New Testament tell us which person spoke that word. However, Hebrews never tells us the name of the quoted speaker. Rather, it says that the Holy Spirit testifies. Moreover, the author of Hebrews does not tell us his name, as the writers of the other Epistles do. This is because Hebrews stresses that it is not man but the Holy Spirit who speaks. Verses 1 and 2a of chapter 1 say, “God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son.” Chapter 1 says that it is God who speaks in the Son, but the following chapters say that it is the Holy Spirit who speaks. This means that God speaks in the Son as the Holy Spirit. When the eternal Spirit speaks in us, that is the speaking of the Son of God. Therefore, whenever we read the Bible — whether Moses, the Psalms, the prophets, or the New Testament apostles — we must receive not only the written word but also the inner speaking of the Holy Spirit. Then we will receive something real from the Word. While we read the black and white letters, there is a living One who speaks in us, pointing out, testifying, and witnessing concerning Christ. This is the work of the eternal Spirit, who spans and surpasses all time and space. Otherwise, whatever we read will be only dead letter to us.
Verse 4 of chapter 2 says, “God bearing witness with them both by signs and wonders and by various works of power and by distributions of the Holy Spirit according to His will.” The distributing Spirit within us dispenses something into us. In principle, the things the Spirit dispenses to us are all the riches of Christ. We should not consider that the gifts of the Spirit include only things such as tongues and healings. According to Romans 12:6-10, even to serve, lead, teach, show mercy, love others, and extend hospitality are gifts, the distributions of the riches of all that Christ is. The eternal Spirit, the Holy One, not only speaks to us about Christ and reveals to us the things of Christ, but while He is speaking and revealing, He imparts, distributes, and dispenses the bountiful riches of Christ into us.
Hebrews 10:29 speaks of the “Spirit of grace” (Zech. 12:10), and 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.” The Spirit of grace is a sweet and precious title. Since grace is nothing less than the riches of Christ Himself, it is only by the Spirit of grace who dispenses the riches of Christ into us that we can find grace. Second Corinthians 13:14 speaks of “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” Grace is of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the transmission of this grace by the Spirit of grace. The eternal Spirit, who is the Spirit of grace, always speaks something of Christ into us and distributes the riches of Christ into us. Hebrews 6:4 says that we have been made “partakers of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit speaks concerning Christ, and He distributes, ministers, the riches of Christ into us as grace. Therefore, we enjoy Him and partake of Him as the Spirit of grace who transmits the grace of Christ to us to meet our timely need.
Verse 9 of chapter 1 says, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy above Your partners.” The Lord Jesus was anointed with the oil of the eternal Spirit. Because God poured out the Spirit of exultant joy upon Him, He could offer Himself to God by this eternal Spirit. The word Christ means “the anointed One.” By being anointed by the Father with the Spirit of exultant joy, He became the Christ.
The book of Hebrews also speaks of our human spirit. Verse 9 of chapter 12 says, “We have had the fathers of our flesh as discipliners and we respected them; shall we not much more be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” In regeneration we are born of God in our spirit (John 1:13; 3:6). Hence, God is the Father of spirits. The context of Hebrews 12 is God’s dealing with His sons. God deals with us in our spirit because He is the Father of spirits.
Verse 23 says, “To the church of the firstborn, who have been enrolled in the heavens; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of righteous men who have been made perfect.” God perfects righteous men in their spirit. God’s dealing with us is related to our spirit, and His perfecting work is also in our spirit.
Verse 12 of chapter 4 says, “The word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God is the Father of our spirit, the One who deals with us in our spirit and perfects us in the spirit. Moreover, Christ Himself as the Spirit is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16). Therefore, we need to discern our spirit from our soul.
Hebrews 10:19 says, “Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.” This is not merely the Holy of Holies in the heavens. If the Holy of Holies were only in heaven, we could not enter into it today while we are still on this earth. Therefore, this must be the Holy of Holies in our spirit. The Holy of Holies in our spirit corresponds with the Holy of Holies in the heavens. In principle, these are two aspects, two ends, of one entity. Subjectively speaking, the Holy of Holies today is in our spirit. Therefore, we must discern our spirit from our soul so that we may enter into the Holy of Holies where Christ, the Ark, the shekinah glory of God, and the presence of God are, where we can contact God, obtain mercy, and find grace as the flowing, living water for us to enjoy. This flowing, living water is simply the Spirit of grace who transmits the riches of Christ as grace into our spirit for our enjoyment to meet our timely need. This is the key to the experience of the things of Christ revealed in this book. Without the key of our spirit, Christ would be only objective to us, and we would have no way to enter into Him.
On the one hand, we need to have an objective vision of Christ as the One who is superior to Judaism in every aspect. On the other hand, we must realize that today He is the eternal Spirit, the Holy One, who brings Christ into our spirit. God the Father deals with us in our spirit, so in order to contact God, experience Christ, and realize the Spirit, we must discern our spirit from our soul. This means that we must always turn to the spirit and divide our spirit from our soul. When we turn to our spirit, we enter into the Holy of Holies. Then we have Christ as the presence of God. We can contact God in all His fullness and enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the flow of the living water (Rev. 22:1-2). The tree of life is Christ as our grace, and the flow of living water is the transmitting Spirit.
Again I say, the key to our experience of Christ in an inner and subjective way is to discern our spirit from our soul and to learn how to turn to the spirit. Whenever we turn to the spirit, we immediately find the flowing of the Spirit of grace who transmits the riches of Christ into us as grace to meet our timely need. This is the key to experiencing all the riches of Christ as revealed in the book of Hebrews.
