Search
There is still more concerning the riches of Christ in this book of Hebrews which we must see. To enter into the concept of any writer is not easy, and to get into the spirit of those who wrote the Scriptures is even more difficult. You may know all the passages word for word, you may understand all the sentences and know all the chapters, but it is not so easy to get into the spirit in which such a book was written. I do believe that in these days, however, the Lord has brought us into the spirit of the author of Hebrews. What is the spirit and what is the concept by which, for which, and with which the writer composed this book? I do believe that before the writer of the book of Hebrews began his task there was in him this concept: so many Hebrew believers were ensnared by the outward religion, Judaism.
Judaism was really and undoubtedly good — in it were the true God, God’s law, God’s words, and God’s writings. There may be thousands of books on earth, but not one written by God. However, in Judaism is found God’s holy writing, God’s divine Word. How wonderful this is! Also found in Judaism are the way to worship God, the sacrifices, the offerings, and all the ordinances established by God. This is far removed from heathendom; this was something ordained, revealed, and established by God Himself. Besides all this, in Judaism are the holy instructions of how to behave oneself both in the presence of God and among human beings. In summary, Judaism has at least these four things: the very God, the divine writings, the divine way for people to worship God, and the best instructions concerning human behavior. In addition to these, the angels are another one of their boasts. These are things which even at that time were very attractive.
The Jewish believers in the early days of the church believed in the Lord Jesus, but they could not loose themselves from these attracting elements. Who or what could compare with these five items? Nothing either Western or Oriental. The heathen have all the demons, but the Jews have all the angels. Unless you could offer them something better, how could you convince them? If they hold the silver and all you have is merely clay, could you persuade them to trade the silver for the clay? The best way to convince holders of silver is to show them gold, a quantity of gold. This was the concept within the writer of the book of Hebrews — what the Jewish believers had was but silver; what he had was gold.
What is the gold? Christ is the gold. The Jews have God, but they do not have a God with a human nature. Now we have a God not only with divinity but also with humanity; we have something better. I do not say that what the Jews have is not good, but what we have is better and even the best. Their God is the hidden God, but our God is the expressed God. We have something more. The Jews have the holy writings, but their holy writings consist only of the Old Testament. What we have is a New Testament. We do not say theirs is wrong or not good, but it is too old; it is not up to date. We have a new and better covenant. The blood that sealed their covenant was the blood of a mere beast, but the blood that seals ours is the blood of the eternal Son of God. Can this blood be compared with the blood of a beast? This is the thought and concept of the writer. The way the Jews inherited of worshipping God was too outward; we have an inward way of worshipping God. Their way is old, but our way is new; their way is dead, but our way is living. We have a new and living way (10:20). The angels the Jews have are right and good, but the Jews always consider themselves lower than the angels. We who have the new covenant, however, are higher than the angels: the angels are just the servants; we are the heirs, the sons. We do not serve angels; we call them to serve us. Is not this much better? This is the concept of the writer.
The main thing is this: the writer had the concept that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eternal One, is better than all things. He is the very God, and He is also a real man. He is the God-man. He is no more just God, but God and man. He has the divine nature as well as the human. He is the very God now with two natures, divinity and humanity. He is far higher than the angels. He was made lower for a little while, but then He was crowned with glory and honor. How can the angels compare with Him? The Jewish people were always boasting in Moses: they said continually, “We have Moses!” But Jesus is more glorious than Moses. Moses is merely the building; Jesus is the Builder who builds us together into a house of God. How can you compare the building with the builder? And Jesus is the real Joshua. Joshua was just the type; Jesus is the reality. He is the real Joshua to bring us into the good land, and He is also the real land with all its riches for our enjoyment. Praise the Lord! As Joshua was the companion to Caleb, so is the Lord the Companion to us. He is the real Joshua, and we are all so many Calebs. He is our Companion, and we are His partners; we are just one company with Him, going into the good land. As for Aaron, Christ is far superior. Aaron was simply a high priest according to the law, but He is the eternal Melchizedek, a High Priest according to the power of an indestructible life.
The writer has a further concept. Jesus has not only so many items in His person — the God-man, the One who is higher than the angels, the One more glorious than Moses, the real Joshua, the land, our Companion, the Priest higher than Aaron and superior to Aaron; He also is far superior and better in what He has accomplished, in what He has given. He has accomplished eternal redemption by His blood, and by His blood He has made the eternal covenant, the better covenant, which has been made an eternal will and testament to us. Before His death it was a covenant, but after His death the covenant became a testament. Before He died, He was the Maker, the Testator, of the covenant, but after His death, in His resurrection He became the Executor of this testament. In this covenant, which is now a testament, there are three items:
As long as you receive this testament, all your sins are forgiven. It does not mean that your sins will be forgiven, but that your sins have already been forgiven. What shall we do? What can we do but jump up and praise the Lord! But, I tell you, out of one hundred Christians hardly one who receives the testament will respond in such a way. Nearly all who receive it will say, “O God, be merciful to me; forgive me. Oh, forgive me of all my sins!” We all have been doing this, and we consider this a good prayer. But do you know what God says? “Poor man, poor man, you already have a million dollars — why do you ask Me to give you one dollar?” Have you ever heard someone praising the Father with boldness: “O Father, how I thank You, all my sins have been forgiven, even before I was born!” Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, we have the testament; it is in our hands. Jesus is the Mediator, and it has been sealed by His blood. God will no more remember our sins (8:12). The first item of this testament is the forgiveness of sins.
“This is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them...And they shall by no means each teach his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all will know Me from the little one to the great one among them” (vv. 10-11). There is no need for any fellow citizen to teach you, because you have the law written within you. What is this? This is life imparted into you: you have something living as the law of life, not the law of letters. Sins are gone, and life is here. You have to jump up again and say Hallelujah! This life is the indestructible life, full of life power, and we have it. This is the second item of the testament.
I will be God to them, and they will be a people to Me” (v. 10). God Himself is the main inheritance. We not only inherit forgiveness of sins and the impartation of life, but also all that God is, all that He can do, and all that He has planned. In this testament we have God. Hallelujah, Hallelujah! This is the better covenant, the New Testament; it is much better than the old. The Old Testament is really old; it must pass away, and it has already passed away. Now we have the New Testament, something so surpassingly superior. Jesus excels everything, not only in what He is in so many aspects but also in what He has accomplished. The center of His accomplishments is this marvelous new and better covenant, the New Testament. He made it with His own blood. He was the Maker, the Testator, the Mediator, the Giver, and now in His resurrection as the living One, He is the Guarantor of the New Testament and the Executor, day by day executing in us all that is included in it. It is too marvelous, too wonderful!
Oh, what a Jesus! Oh, what qualifications! God is in Him — in Jesus you have the very God. Man is in Him — in Jesus you have the real man. He is a God-man, and He is also a man-God. This is much better than a Ph.D. degree. Such a qualification as these two natures, the divine and the human, is much better than a hundred Ph.D. degrees. He is the real Doctor of divinity, and He is the real Doctor in humanity. He is God, and He is man: He is the very God, and He is the real man. Now He has been sent to us as the Apostle more glorious than Moses, and He is the real Joshua, a real Companion, to bring us into the real land which is Himself. We have all been called into the participation of such a One; we have all been made partakers of Him and partners with Him. What could be better than this? We were poor sinners: the only degree we had was that of sin. But praise the Lord, we are joined to Him; we have been made partakers, companions, and partners of Him. Whatever He is, whatever He has, we share! Hallelujah!
He is not only the Apostle to us here, but He is also the High Priest to God there. He is the Apostle here representing God, and He is the High Priest there representing us. He is the Apostle here caring for all our needs, and He is the High Priest there handling all our cases in the heavenly court. What a Christ! He is so divine with divinity, and He is so human with humanity. Here on the earth we have in Him divinity; there in the heavens we have in Him humanity. Here on the earth as the Apostle He is divine; there in the heavens as the High Priest He is human. As the High Priest He has the humanity to sympathize with us, and as the Apostle with divinity He can minister to us the heavenly bread and heavenly wine, as Melchizedek to Abraham, to meet our need. He sympathizes with us by His humanity, and He ministers all the riches of God to us by His divinity. He is so qualified: He is fully qualified both to sympathize and to minister.
The burden and concept of the writer of the book of Hebrews is this: you Jewish believers must be brought back to this wonderful One, this One who is far superior to all you have in Judaism. What Judaism has is good, but what we have is better both in quality and in quantity. Why do you still hold on to the silver? Why not drop it and take the gold? But if you would do this, you must realize first that Judaism, the best and even the genuine religion, is a camp which rejected Jesus. Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem — that means that He was rejected by Judaism. He was the true sin offering, which according to the type must be burned outside the camp. Jesus was really treated in this way — He was cast out of the city of Jerusalem; He was cast out of Judaism; He went outside the camp, bearing the cross. That was His reproach (13:11-13). If you would enjoy this Jesus, how can you still remain in the camp? This was the thought of the writer. As long as you insist on preserving the elements of Judaism, you keep yourself within the camp and separate yourself from Jesus. Jesus today is not within the camp; Jesus today is not within Judaism or any other kind of religious organization. As the Forerunner He has entered for us within the veil (6:20; 8:1-2) — He is there, in the Holy of Holies, not in the camp.
We must realize that today the Holy of Holies has two ends: one end is in the heavens, and the other is within our spirit. Whenever we are in the spirit, we are in the heavens, and whenever we are in the heavens, we may be assured that we are in the spirit. If today the Holy of Holies were only in the heavens, how could we have boldness to enter as we are exhorted in Hebrews 10:19? If it were only in the heavens, we would have to wait. But, praise the Lord, one end of the Holy of Holies is on this earth, in our spirit. The heavens and our spirit are connected together. When we are in the spirit, we are in the heavens; when we are in the spirit, we are in the Holy of Holies. In one sense, Christ is in the heavens, and in another sense, while He is in the heavens He is in our spirit. So let us leave the camp; let us leave Judaism; let us leave Christianity; let us leave every kind of religious organization and enter into the place where Jesus has entered, within the veil. We must abandon the camps and turn to the spirit.
If you are still remaining in any kind of Christian organization and exercising your mind to consider the matter of Christ and the church, you can never be clear — the vision of Jesus is not there. The vision of Jesus is on the island of Patmos, outside of Judaism, outside of religious organization. We must go forth unto Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach (13:13). If you will only leave the camp to follow Him, you will be in the heavens and therefore in your spirit, the Holy of Holies. Here you can gaze upon Him, you can stay with Him, you can partake of Him, and you can enjoy Him. Here you have the throne of grace, here you can find grace to meet your timely need, here you may enjoy the Spirit of grace, and here you may taste all the heavenly things, the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come.
If you are such a person, do you think you could keep yourself silent in the meetings? If you are such a one, who or what could frustrate you from praising Him? Your heart will be bubbling with good matters; your tongue will be the pen of a ready writer. You will have so many praises, and Christ will be the sacrifice of your praise. Your praises will not be empty but full of the content of Christ.
Not just the Jews but every one of us needs an inward vision to see that Christ is everything better than everything, and He is all better than all. Second we must consider Him, we must partake of Him, we must enjoy Him, we must look to Him, and we must go forth unto Him. But we cannot do this if we remain in the camp. We must go out of the camp and enter within the veil. I like these two phrases outside the camp and within the veil. Are you really outside the camp? If you are inside the camp and outside the veil, you will lose the presence and enjoyment of Christ. If you would enjoy Him and His presence, you must be outside the camp and inside the veil. Learn to know Him and learn to enjoy Him; then you will be filled with so many good matters and praises concerning Him. Your praise will silence all the enemies and crush all the little foxes.
We Christians must be such people. As such, we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. The less we have of Christ, the less we will desire to come to the meetings. The more we are filled with Christ, the more we long for the meetings and require the meetings to express something of Him. We need a meeting to say Hallelujah; we need a meeting to shout Amen; we need a meeting to release our spirit. We need to come together, not with itching ears to listen to Doctor So-and-so. Our itching ears must be cut off. The itching ears cause today’s Christianity to pile teachers upon teachers. We need simply to exercise our spirit and open our mouth widely to say Hallelujah, Amen, Jesus is Lord! This is the best way for us to meet. If we meet in this way, our meetings will be full of praises.
The more we praise in the meetings, the more we enjoy the Lord’s presence, for while we are praising, He praises in our praising. I do not believe that in the solos of today’s Christianity Jesus could sing the hymns. That kind of singing is a sorrow to the Lord and a real solo. Whenever we sing, Jesus should sing within our singing — how could that be a solo? The more we praise, the more we sense that we are filled with Jesus and saturated with His anointing. The more we sing in this way, the more we will say Hallelujah! We can never finish our praising, for the more we praise, the more we have with which to praise. This is the right way for us to come together.
I hope that before long the Lord will bring the greatest part of our meeting into praises. There may be just a short message for the inner ear, not for the itching ears. Most of the time will be for praising.
In this matter we need to afford Him the best cooperation. I have already used the illustration of the three-legged race. If my partner is capable and clever, yet I am slow and dull, I cannot cooperate well. He will be bound by me. Have you realized that you have always bound Christ? He is your Companion, and you are His partner, but what kind of a partner are you? When you come to the meeting and He wants to sing within you, do you offer Him adequate coordination? Or do you shut your mouth and quench your spirit? If so, He is imprisoned by you. How then could He sing hymns of praise in the midst of the church? We may, however, open our mouth and sing in the spirit, and undoubtedly Jesus will sing within us. But our singing may yet be so poor and lacking in adequate content, for we are not yet accustomed to higher praises. We have learned to say, “Hallelujah! O Lord! Jesus is Lord!” This is good, but we must realize that this is simply the ABCs, the first grade. Could we praise with a psalm like Psalm 68? “Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered”; “You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive”; “The kings of the armies flee. / They flee! / And she who abides at home / Divides the spoil” (vv. 1, 18, 12). Could we praise like this? I hope that some day we will psalm the whole book of Hebrews.
Brothers and sisters, let us consider our praises. In one sense we are short of praises, and in another sense we are so poor in the utterance of our praises. Not only must we know Christ as everything better than everything, not only must we labor to enter into the good land and all the enjoyment of Christ, not only must we come together filled with His praises, but we must also practice composing our praises from the new vocabulary of our experiences of Christ. We need to practice this. Practice praising Christ out of your experience of Him; then you will become accustomed to it, and when you come to the meeting, you will praise with richer and higher phrases, utterance, and expression. How we need this! This is the best way to strengthen our meetings, uplift our meetings, and make our meetings so convincing and living. Will you practice?
We have been so long in the book of Hebrews. We need to praise the Lord according to such a book; there is so much content for our praises from the first chapter to the last. Through Him therefore, through the Christ of this book, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God. It is comparatively easy to open our mouth and release our spirit in the meeting, but it is more difficult to compose our praises with richer utterance from the experiences of the Christ of this book. We need to practice. If we do, our meetings will be entirely different; we will be delivered from the traditional way of meeting, and we will be like the hundred and forty-four thousand, singing a new song which no other can learn.
