Colossians 1:20-21 "And, having made peace (see, that’s the whole idea of reconciliation isn’t it? When people have been estranged - my, imagine when they get together they can fight like cats and dogs, but if we can reconcile them and let love take over, then you see we can have the same thing we see here, having made peace) through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile (bring back together) all things unto Himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21. And you, (speaking to Gentiles in particular though not discounting the Hebrews) that were sometime alienated and enemies (of God) in your mind by wicked works, (nobody knew how to be wicked better than the Gentiles of Paul’s day. I mean they were practiced at it but then too were the Hebrews) yet now has he reconciled." They have been brought unto Himself, and that’s what faith and faith alone can do!
Hebrews 3:1a Wherefore, (because of what we have already established) holy brethren,…" Now here we’re not talking just simply to the Hebrews in the flesh, but we’re talking to believers who are brethren in Christ, because we’re sure Paul wrote this and so Paul is going to be constantly, by innuendo, if not by direct statement, bringing in the position of the Grace Age believer, saved as we are by faith in that finished work of the Cross. So he speaks of them as brethren in Christ not just as brethren in the flesh as Hebrews. Then he says:
Hebrews 3:1a "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,..."
Most people don't understood this concept - and that was that Israel was God’s earthly people, we in the Church Age are God’s heavenly people. And there’s that much distinction as ones an earthly (practical) lot and the others are to be a spiritual (divine) lot.
God’s earthly people, the Hebrews, were associated with all the earthly promises of materialism, Aaron's priesthood, the Levities. And all we have to do is just stop and think for a moment. Abraham, was he rich or poor? According to the economy of their day he was wealthy. All that wealth went right on to the next one, Isaac. And by the time Isaac finishes his sojourn on earth where does all that wealth go? To Jacob. And so indeed they were blessed with material blessings and so the Hebrews were admonished throughout the Old Testament history that if they were obedient, God blessed them. When they were disobedient, God chastised them in the area of the physical and the material realms.
But see, we don’t live under that kind of format in this Age of Grace. God may bless us materially, but He isn’t duty bound to. We're still getting the crumbs that fall off the Lords table, as the Hebrews were the honored guests. There’s nothing in Paul’s writings that said if we do good He’ll make us a millionaire. That’s not in there. All our promises, all our blessings are heavenly and, consequently, we do not get tied to the earthly things. The every things that we've been set free from, unless we follow a twisted gospel of mans design. If God sees fit to bless us, great, but if not, we’re not going to complain, because our riches are waiting for us. We don’t care if we do have to go through 50, 60, 70, or 80 years with little of this world’s goods, the eternity that is waiting for us is more than worth it. Alright, so he says that we are:
Hebrews 3:1b "…Partakers of the heavenly calling..." Even these Hebrew believers. Now we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the Epistle of Hebrews is written to Hebrew believers. When we started this Epistle of Hebrews, do we remember what was said there is no Roman Road in the Epistle of Hebrews? There’s no plan of salvation laid out so clearly like it is in Romans or Galatians, but it is a letter written to Hebrew believers who had been steeped in Judaism, the religion of the Jews. And anytime, we don’t care whether it’s Hebrew or Gentile, whether it was then or now, whenever someone tries to make that break with "religion," it is tough. It is not easy to turn your back on something that has been drummed into you since you were old enough to walk.
That was the lot of these Hebrew believers that Paul is addressing. They had come out of Judaism, they had made the break and now they’re having second thoughts. Is this Jesus of Nazareth really Who He said He was? Is He really the Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind? And so this is the thrust of this Epistle of Hebrews. Here again, Paul says that even these Hebrew believers, having come out of the legalism of religion of Judaism, are now partakers of the heavenly calling. And we’ll be pointing to that a little later verse of this chapter, how that we are already citizens of heaven and we have that heavenly connection. Its for this reason that we're not repeat not to have anything to do with religionized holy-days or Holidays, we're to honor the cross and our LORD High Priest Christ Jesus the Glorified ONE. For it is He who is head of the Church not a mere man or organization.
Alright, so now he says we who are partakers of this heavenly calling, the next word is rather a blasé word in our English and that’s unfortunate, the word is:
Hebrews 3:1c "...consider..." In the Greek it means: with all the attention that you can muster, focus on this man from Glory, the Apostle of our confession, which another word would be the Great Prophet or the Messiah. Now don’t take that word "consider" lightly. In the Greek it just can’t emphasize it enough. What we have to do? We have to focus on it or we’d miss it.
Now it's not just a casual scanning, it is focusing in. Now we think that’s a good way of explaining this. We are to just focus in on this Man from Glory, the Carpenter of Nazareth, Who is the Eternal Sovereign Creator, God of the universe. So now as partakers of this heavenly calling we are to focus in with all that’s at our disposal, with our wholehearted attention. So reading the verse again.
Hebrews 3:1 "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostles and High Priest of our (confession is a better word than) profession, Christ Jesus;" Now of course we all know, we trust, that the word ‘Christ’ in the English, is ‘Messiah’ in the Greek. The Messiah, Jesus. And that of course, comes out of all the promises of the Old Testament. So let’s look at it again. We are to consider, we’re to focus in with everything of Him being our Great Apostle. Notice to that Paul says it in His resurrection state or order, that puts of Christ first and then His earthy name Jesus, He “IS” now Christ and this comes from what He told Moses in the burning bush back in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 where it is recorded “God said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM": and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, "I AM" has sent me to you.”
Now we're going to wait for the High Priesthood until we get a little later into Hebrews, especially chapter 7, but for now we're going to let the High Priesthood just sort of sit and we’re going to look at this word ‘apostle.’ Normally we don’t think of Jesus as an apostle and it even shook us up, and we knew He was Prophet, Priest and King but we never really heard or thought of Him as an Apostle.
Well the word means the same thing. An apostle in the Greek is really someone who was "sent," in other words the Twelve. What did Jesus do? He sent them. When the Apostle Paul was commissioned in the Book of Acts what did the Lord tell him? "I’m going to send you far hence to the Gentiles." Now we have the same concept here then concerning Christ. He was "sent." Well, Who sent him?
Let’s go all the way back to Deuteronomy because, after all, the Old Testament fits with the New and we can’t separate them. The old was concealed where the New reveals what was concealed in the old. (Deuteronomy 29:29) Come back to Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 15.
Deuteronomy 18:15-17 "The Lord your God (the Father) will raise up unto you a Prophet (or we could say from the Epistle of Hebrews, an Apostle) from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me; (Moses is speaking) to him you shall hearken: 16. according to all that you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb (that’s the other word for Mount Sinai) in the day of the assembly (when they were gathered around the mount) saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17. The Lord said to me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken." Now verse 18. God says to Moses. (Ancient Hebrew picture is a seed in side a tent, which means a seed inside of a body, or a spoken word of inspiration received within the heart of man. A fruit formed inside of man to produce what was not otherwise unknown. To have a knowledge of or understanding not other wise known.)
Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise them up a Prophet (an apostle, someone that I am sending) from among their brethren, (now the word ‘brethren’ here is talking about the Nation of Israel, the Hebrews from whence Christ came.) like unto you (Moses) and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I (the Yehovah say) shall command him." See how clear that is? Now verse 19.
Deuteronomy 18:19 " And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken (or listen) to my words which he shall speak in my name, (God says) I will require it of him." (Hebrews 12: 25-26)
Alright, now to pick up that "being sent" concept, let’s go all the way up to Matthew and again we're using this for more than one reason and that is, Jesus came only to the Nation of Israel to fulfill all the Old Testament promises, the Law and prophecies, some people get all shook up. They say, "Then what do you do with John 3:16? That doesn’t say He sent Him to Israel, it says that He sent Him to the whole world." We said, "He came first to the Nation of Israel and when the Hebrews rejected Him, then yes, He became the Savior of the whole world. But in His original ministry, He came only to the Nation of Israel, the Hebrews." They were still scattered throughout the known world at that day and time, limited as it was.
Now in Matthew 15, most of us know the account of the Canaanite woman. And we almost have to take all of it; otherwise it just doesn’t make sense. So let’s start at verse 21. And this is taking place during His earthly ministry.
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