Hebrews 7, a chapter on the priesthood of Christ, reveals two aspects of Christ’s priesthood. The first aspect is the kingly priesthood, and the second aspect is the divine priesthood. As we saw in the last message, Christ is a kingly priest. His status is kingly, royal. Although He is a High Priest, He did not come out of the tribe of the priests but out of the tribe of the kings — Judah. Kingship is His status and makes Him a kingly priest.
Kingship is related to both righteousness and peace because kingship is a kind of rule and authority. In order to maintain righteousness and peace, we need authority. If Christ is to minister the processed God to us as our bread and wine, there must be an environment that is full of righteousness and peace. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we need to have the deep sensation that we are in a condition of righteousness and peace. Suppose, on the contrary, that we are continually fighting with one another. In such a case, there would be no righteousness and peace, and there would be no ministering of the bread and wine to us. In order to have the processed God ministered to us for our enjoyment, everything between us and God and between us and one another must be all right. When everything is right, there will be peace, and in peace Christ will minister the processed God to us. Righteousness and peace come out of His kingship, for when the King is here, no one will fight. Everything will be peaceful. Christ’s kingship maintains an order of righteousness and peace. His kingly status is for the purpose of preserving a righteous and peaceful order.
The second aspect of Christ’s priesthood in Hebrews 7 is the divine priesthood. For Christ to be kingly is a matter of status, but for Him to be divine is a matter of constituent, a matter of His having the necessary, basic element that constitutes Him to be such a High Priest. Christ’s being divine refers to His nature. Christ is kingly according to His royal status and divine according to His divine nature. He is kingly because He is a King and He is divine because He is the Son of God. Christ, the Son of God, not only has kingship but also divinity. While His kingship maintains a condition that is full of righteousness and peace so that He may minister the processed God to us for our enjoyment, His divinity constitutes Him as a High Priest who is living and full of life so that He may be able to continue His priesthood perpetually.
Divinity is Christ’s nature and life. As such a divine person full of divinity, He is the living One. With Christ as the kingly High Priest there is no unrighteousness or strife but righteousness and peace. With Christ as the divine High Priest there is no death. He has conquered, subdued, and swallowed death. Why is there no death with our divine High Priest? Because He is life. Christ is divine. Divinity is His very essence, nature, element, and makeup. His kingly status solves all problems and maintains a peaceful environment. But He is divine, not just kingly. Since Christ is divine, wherever He is, there is no death. Wherever He is, there is resurrection and death is swallowed. Wherever Christ is, there is the absence of death. Christ’s priesthood is the absence of death. Have you ever heard that the priesthood of Christ is the absence of death? Light is the absence of darkness, for whenever light is present, darkness must be absent. Likewise, Christ’s presence means the absence of death.
Why does Christ’s presence mean the absence of death? Because He is divine. Divinity is the constituent of His priesthood. His priesthood is constituted, composed, with His divinity. As wood is the element of a table, so divinity is the element of Christ’s being the High Priest. When His ministry comes in, it means the absence of death. On the one hand, the priesthood of Christ is the absence of death; on the other hand, it is the presence of life. Thus, the priesthood of Christ is the absence of death and the presence of life. As the kingly High Priest, Christ ministers the processed God to us, and as the divine High Priest, wherever He is, life is present. His priesthood is the presence of life.
Have you ever noticed the two aspects of Christ’s priesthood in this chapter — the kingly aspect and the divine aspect? Perhaps you are wondering how we can prove that there are these two aspects. This is easy to do. In 7:2 we have the King of righteousness and the King of peace, and in 7:28 we have “the Son, Who is perfected forever.” The Son of God has been appointed to be the High Priest, and the Son of God is certainly divine. Hence, at the beginning of this chapter we have the King and at the end we have the Son of God. Although I spent much time on this chapter, I could not understand it until one day I got the two words kingly and divine. When I saw that the first part is the kingly aspect and the second part is the divine aspect, the whole chapter became clear.
This wonderful High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec has not been constituted “according to the law of a fleshy commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life,” (v. 16) for “the law perfected nothing” (v. 19). Since the law did not perfect anything, we need to say to the law, “Law, you are nothing. You never profited anyone. Law, stay away from me.” Our High Priest has not been constituted with the law but with the power of an indestructible life. Who is He? He is the Son of God. You may also say to the law, “Dear Law, can you compare yourself with the Son of God? I have been cheated by you for years, thinking that you were something when actually you were nothing. Now, Law, I have life!” We have the Lord’s life, the life that is the Son of God Himself.
The Son of God is not simple, for He has two aspects. Most Christians only know that the Son of God is the Only Begotten Son, but the Bible says that He is also the Firstborn Son. The Only Begotten Son is one aspect, and the Firstborn Son is the other aspect. The Only Begotten Son, who existed from eternity past, only had divinity. The Firstborn Son, who according to Psalm 2 and Acts 13:33 was born as such on the day of resurrection, has both divinity and humanity. On the day of resurrection, the man Jesus was born to be the Son of God. This does not relate to the aspect of His being the Only Begotten Son but to the aspect of His being the Firstborn Son.
Do not think that this is merely a doctrinal matter. It is related to the qualifications of Christ as the High Priest. Although the Only Begotten Son was wonderful, He had only divinity but not humanity, which is necessary for Him to be our High Priest. Verse 28 says that the Son of God has been perfected forever, proving that the Son of God here must not be just the Only Begotten Son but also the Firstborn Son. The Only Begotten Son of God needed no perfection because He was eternally perfect. But, in order for Him to be the Firstborn Son of God, He needed a great deal of perfection. He had to put on humanity in His incarnation and live on earth for thirty-three and a half years, passing through all the experience of human living. Then He needed to pass through death, tasting, overcoming, subduing, and swallowing death. After that, He had to come out of death in resurrection. After His resurrection, He, as the Firstborn Son of God with humanity, was fully perfected. Now He is not just the eternal Only Begotten Son of God, but also the perfected Firstborn Son of God. Therefore, now He is completely perfected, equipped, and qualified to be our divine High Priest.
How was Christ constituted to be such a High Priest? In the way of having His divinity incarnated into humanity, living on the earth, going into death, and coming out of death in resurrection. Who is He now? He is the Son of God in two aspects, the aspects of the Only Begotten Son and of the Firstborn Son. Now He is human as well as divine. Having passed through incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, He is fully equipped and qualified for the divine priesthood. In this High Priest there is not only no worldliness or sin, but there is absolutely no death. Death has been completely swallowed up by His divine life.
Christ lives forever. Death cannot prevent Him from continuing as the High Priest. All of the Levitical priests lived until a certain age and then died. Death prevented them from continuing as priests. After the first high priest died, he was replaced by the second who, in turn, was replaced by the third because death prevented them from continuing in the office of high priest. There is no need to say that those priests were unable to save others; they were even unable to save themselves. They were all a hopeless case. But Christ’s priesthood is different. While the Aaronic priesthood was still subject to death, the priesthood according to the order of Melchisedec, constituted with the element of life, is the absence of death. The life with which it is constituted has passed through death and has swallowed up death. This life is indestructible. How do we know that this life is indestructible? Because it has been tested by everything and by every kind of situation. It was tested by the Lord’s mother in the flesh, by all the members of His fleshly family, by all the sufferings of His human life, and by all the temptations of the Devil, Satan. Ultimately, it was tested by death, the grave, Hades, and the power of darkness. This life has been tested by everything, and nothing can destroy it. It is absolutely indestructible. Our High Priest is constituted with the element of such an indestructible life.
Christ’s kingly priesthood is for ministry and His divine priesthood is for saving. Verse 25 says, “Wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, seeing He is always living to intercede for them.” Why is He able to save to the uttermost? Because He is living and because He is the indestructible life. Nothing can destroy Him. Although I may have the heart to save you all, I can easily be destroyed and terminated. But Christ can save us to the uttermost because His priesthood is composed with an indestructible life. Regardless of our situation or the condition in which we may find ourselves, we can tell Satan, “Satan, do your best. Send all of your armies against me. I am not afraid of them, because I have the divine priesthood to take care of me!” What is this divine priesthood? It is the saving power of the indestructible life. While the ministry of the kingly High Priest is to minister the processed God to us for our enjoyment, not to offer sacrifices to God for our sins, the work of the divine High Priest is mainly to save us.
In verse 12 we are told that the priesthood has been transferred. It has firstly been transferred from the order of Aaron to the order of Melchisedec (vv. 11, 15, 17). In the old covenant, the priesthood was according to the order of Aaron, which was often interrupted by death. In the new covenant, the priesthood has been transferred to the order of Melchisedec, which is perpetual.
The priesthood has also been transferred from the priestly tribe of Levi to the kingly tribe of Judah (vv. 13-14). In the Old Testament, Levi was the tribe of the priests and Judah was the tribe of the kings. The Lord’s descending from the tribe of Judah caused a transfer in the priesthood and combined the priesthood together with the kingship in one tribe (Zech. 6:13), as manifested in Melchisedec who was both the high priest and the king (v. 1).
Verse 28 indicates that the priesthood has also been transferred from men to the Son of God. All the men who were priests in the Old Testament were fragile, subject to death, but the Son of God is eternal, living forever. He is the Only Begotten Son and the Firstborn Son of God as the very life that constitutes the priesthood of the new covenant. The priesthood has been transferred from men to such a One, to the Only Begotten Son and the Firstborn Son of God. In such a One we have divinity incarnated and humanity uplifted. In such a One we have human living, the all-inclusive death, and the resurrection. In such a One we have the divine birth of the Firstborn Son of God, the birth that produced the many sons of God. In the new covenant, the priesthood has been transferred to such a One.
Verse 12 says, “For the priesthood being transferred, there is of necessity a transfer of law also.” With the priesthood of the old covenant, there was an old law. Now, with the priesthood of the new covenant, there should be a new law. So a transfer of law is needed.
This transfer of law is from the law of letters to the law of life, according to which Christ has been constituted a living and perpetual High Priest (v. 16). Christ has not been constituted High Priest according to the law of letters but according to the power of an indestructible life. The priesthood of Christ in the new covenant is not a matter of letters but of life. Christ as our High Priest takes care of us now with His indestructible life. Nevertheless, many Christians still want to go back to the law of letters on the other side of the river. By the Lord’s mercy, we have crossed the river from the other side, the side of letters, to this side, the side of life. It is in this indestructible, eternal life that we participate in and enjoy the priesthood of Christ today.
Verses 18 and 19 say, “For there is indeed a disannulling of the preceding commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, (for the law perfected nothing), and the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” The commandment, or the regulations, of the law concerning the Levitical priesthood has been disannulled because of its weakness in letters. It was not a matter of life but a dead commandment in letters; so it was unprofitable. Due to the weakness of man, the law perfected nothing (Rom. 8:3).
The transfer of law annuls the old law and brings in a better hope. What is this better hope? It is the priesthood in life. This hope mainly depends upon life, the indestructible life. Because the priesthood that takes care of us is in such a life, we are full of hope. When you feel weak and consider that feeling as a lie, it indicates that you are full of hope. If your wife tells you that you are weak, you need to say, “That is a lie. Dear wife, wait awhile. I’ll be a strong fighter just like Abraham. I am full of hope because of the priesthood of my Melchisedec.” If you say this, it means that you are full of a better hope. This better hope is the priesthood in life. As long as there is life, there is hope. Only a dead person has no hope. As long as we are alive, there is a certain amount of hope. The transfer of law annuls the dead letters and brings in the hope in life. Never be disappointed — we have a better hope. We have a priesthood of the indestructible life.
A number of times people have said to me, “Brother Lee, we never see that you are troubled. Don’t you have any trials or troubles in your Christian life?” I have at least as many troubles as anyone else. The only difference is that I do not believe in my troubles. I believe in my hope. There is a better hope in me. We all have such a hope because the law according to which the priesthood that takes care of us is constituted, has been transferred from the weak and unprofitable commandment to an indestructible life.
Christ’s being the Only Begotten Son as well as the Firstborn Son of God are both qualifications for Him to be the High Priest (v. 28). He became our High Priest with these two qualifications. Christ’s becoming our High Priest depends upon both His being the Only Begotten Son and the Firstborn Son of God.
Christ has not been constituted the High Priest according to the powerless letters of the law but according to the powerful element of an indestructible life (v. 16). Nothing can dissolve this life. It is an endless life, being the eternal, divine, uncreated, resurrection life that has passed through the test of death and Hades (Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:18). It is by such a life that Christ ministers today as our High Priest. Hence, He is able to save to the uttermost (v. 25). Christ as our High Priest is the living Son of God Himself. He is powerful. On the one hand, He is in heaven; on the other hand, He is in our spirit. Between these two ends, heaven and our spirit, there is the traffic on the heavenly ladder because His priesthood is continually flowing from the throne into our spirit. It does not flow with knowledge but with the power of an indestructible life.
As the Only Begotten Son and the Firstborn Son of God, Christ became the High Priest with the taking of an oath by God (vv. 20-21, 28). Not one of the Levitical priests was ever established by God’s oath. According to Psalm 110, God swore to make Christ a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec. In Hebrews 7 the writer quotes that oath from Psalm 110. This is very weighty, proving that Christ’s becoming the divine High Priest was consummated by God’s oath.
In verse 28 we see that Christ has been perfected forever. We have already mentioned that, as the Only Begotten Son of God, Christ did not need perfection. However, in order to be the Firstborn Son of God, He needed perfection. After His resurrection, He was perfected forever. Now He is completed, equipped, and qualified to be our High Priest for eternity. We may trust in Him with our full confidence because He has been so perfected.
Verse 22 says, “By so much also Jesus has become the Surety of a better covenant.” That Christ has become the Surety of a better covenant is based upon the fact that He is the living and perpetual High Priest. The root of the Greek word translated surety means a limb, a member of the body. The meaning here is that a member of the body pledges itself to the body. For example, my hand may pledge itself to my arm to do everything for my arm. This pledge is a guarantee. The word surety in this verse means that Christ has pledged Himself to the new covenant and to all of us. He is the bondsman, the guarantee that He will do everything that is necessary for the fulfillment of the new covenant.
Once the hand has pledged itself to the arm, it becomes the surety to guarantee that it will do everything for the arm. Even if the hand does not want to do things for the arm, it must do them nonetheless because it has pledged itself to the arm. Christ, of course, would never be unwilling to do things for us. But even if He were unwilling, it would be too late for Him to refuse, because He has pledged Himself to the new covenant and to all of us who are under the new covenant. He must do everything for us.
This thought is deep and is absolutely a matter of life. Do you not realize that your physical life has pledged itself to you? Whether or not your physical life wants to do things for you, it has to do them because it has pledged itself to do them. So your physical life is itself the surety that it will do everything for you. It has made a bond to do this.
In like manner, a bond has been signed by Christ. In what way was it signed? By the way that Christ has pledged Himself to the new covenant and to us. There is no possibility for Him to change His mind. It is too late. Whether we understand this or not and whether He is willing to do it or not, He must do it because He has pledged Himself. Thus, He is the Surety of the new covenant. This pledge depends completely on His divine priesthood.
Although my hand has pledged itself to my arm, my hand is limited in its ability. It may be able to carry a book but not a heavy table. But there is no limitation with Christ. His pledge is unlimited. The very Christ who has pledged Himself to us is unlimited. He will do everything and He can do everything for us. He is the qualified, capable, and able Surety. He is always available and prevailing, fulfilling whatever He has guaranteed.
Suppose you are asked by a friend to sign a pledge for him at his bank. If the bank manager learned that you only had a few dollars, he would not allow you to sign the pledge, even if you promised to be faithful to fulfill that pledge. But Christ has billions in resources. When He pledged Himself, that included everything. Therefore, the new covenant, the covenant enacted on the law of life, can never fail because Christ is the Surety of this covenant. Everything included in it will be fulfilled. It is not fulfilled by us but by our Surety. Christ is not only the consummator of the new covenant; He is also the Surety, the pledge that everything in it will be fulfilled.
Christ is capable because He is living (v. 25). He is available and prevailing also because He is living. Everything He can do depends on one thing — that He is living.
Because He is living, Christ can continue His priesthood forever without being prevented by death (vv. 23-24). In the Old Testament times, all of the priests were prevented by death from continuing their priesthood, but death can never prevent Christ, the ever-living One, from continuing His priesthood.
Christ’s priesthood is unalterable; it cannot be changed. What He is, He is once for all and forever. He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (13:8), and so is His priesthood.
Verse 25 tells us that Christ is able to save to the uttermost. The word translated uttermost also means completely, entirely, perfectly, for all time and eternity, and to the end. Because He lives forever without any change, Christ is able to save us to the uttermost in extent, in time, and in space. Both in extent, in time, and in space, His saving of us reaches to the uttermost.
Christ is able to save us because He intercedes for us. As our High Priest, Christ undertakes our case by interceding for us. He appears before God on our behalf, praying for us that we may be saved and brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. You may say that you have never realized that He is interceding for you. There is no need for you to realize this. What good would it do if you did realize it? Do not try to realize His intercession. Simply rest in it, trust in it, and enjoy it. Be assured that your divine High Priest is continually interceding for you. My experience tells me that many times I have been saved by His intercession. We have a perpetual, constant, and eternal Intercessor.
Our divine High Priest intercedes for us constantly, knowing how easy it is for us to fall and, once we have fallen, to remain in our fallen state. Sooner or later His intercession will overcome, subdue, and save us. If this does not happen today or tomorrow, it may happen next year, in the next age, or, at the latest, in the new heaven and the new earth. We all shall be completely subdued and saved by His intercession. God has appointed Him to take care of us, and He is now taking care of us by interceding for us. Although you may forget that you have called upon His name, He will never forget it. He is interceding for you and He will save you to the uttermost.
Verse 26 says that “such a High Priest befits us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” Christ is holy, guileless, undefiled, and separated from sinners. As such a perfect One, He surely befits us. We, having a fallen and corrupted nature, need such a High Priest to save us all the time.
Verse 26 also says that He has “become higher than the heavens.” In His ascension, Christ “has passed through the heavens” (4:14). Now He is not only in heaven (9:24) but also “higher than the heavens,” “far above all heavens” (Eph. 4:10). How high are your troubles? Do you have any that are higher than the heavens? Because our High Priest is higher than the heavens, He is able to rescue us and save us to the uttermost.
Verse 27 says that our High Priest “does not have daily need as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for the sins for the people; for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” This does not refer to what Christ is doing today but to what He did in the past. This verse assures us that never again need we be bothered by sin, for Christ has offered Himself for sins once for all. On the cross He solved the problem of sin once for all. Now, on the throne, He is carrying out His priesthood forever. How marvelous it is that we have such a kingly and divine High Priest!
