The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXXIV

Galatians 1:13a
"For ye have heard of my conversation (or manner of living) in time past in the Jews’ religion,…"

Most of you have been reading this blog long enough to know that Religion always requires what? Works. Always. Anytime you are dealing with a ‘religion’ it’s going to be demanding works. And that’s what Judaism was, it was a works religion. Dead works, because it couldn’t generate life. Alright, looking at the verse again.

Galatians 1:13
"For ye have heard of my conversation (manner of living) in time past in the Jews’ religion, (practicing those dead works as he calls it in Hebrews as he was a pharisee) and how that beyond measure, I persecuted the church (or the assembly of God) and wasted it:"

Stop and think. What was he doing to his fellow Hebrews? Killing them. Hauling them into prison and voting to put them to death. You know that has been a thing that has plagued the Jewish people from day one is that they are so prone to fight each other. They’ve done it throughout their national history. I read somewhere, I think it’s in Josephus, that when the Roman General Titus and his ramrods were knocking on the doors of the city of Jerusalem, and the Roman hoard was ready to come in and kill them, I think up over a million Hebrews, what were the Hebrews all doing inside the city? Civil war! They were fighting with each other. Over what? Religious differences. Look at Israel today. What is their primary problem? They’re fragmented. They’re a fragmented society. I was just reading an article in the Jerusalem Post the other day of a little community where it’s just nip and tuck between the secular and the religious. And they almost hate each other. And yet they’re all Hebrews. The spin off of them is Islam and they're no different as each tribe has its claric leader who is a priest and gives the tribal leader his instructions regarding their law. This has been the form of action from almost day one some 6000 to 8000 years ago.

Well, Paul was no different. He was a Jew’s Jew. A Pharisee of the Pharisees. Of the Tribe of Benjamin. And yet what was he willing to do? See his fellow Hebrews put to death. Why? Because he disagreed with them on their religion or faith system. They had embraced Jesus of Nazareth and so far as he was concerned they were now a plague to the Nation. Get rid of them! Isn’t it sad? So, you watch Israel. Just watch the Nation of Israel. Even today they are plagued with fragmentation. They’ve got the secular, they’ve got the orthodox and they’ve got three or four groups in between and they are at each other’s throats constantly. Alright, now verse 14.

Galatians 1:14a
"And profited (see? Not spiritually - materially) in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in my own nation, (Why?) being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers."

Paul was a religious zealot just like some of these Muslims that we’re dealing with. Religion will always do that to people. And so, he was a religious zealot and what was he zealous of? "The traditions of the fathers." Does that at all ring a bell? Well, it should. Now back to the Epistle of Hebrews. And so he says, move away from that. Get away from that foundation which required repentance from dead works. Which was not a faith toward God. Now that’s of course, fundamental. We all know that without faith it’s impossible to please God. Now for the next pair.

Hebrews 6:2a
"Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands,…"

Well, that was part and parcel of again the Jewish background. My goodness, they had practiced washings, washings, washings all the way up through their national history. When John the Baptist came on the scene demanding water baptism, that wasn’t anything frightening to the Hebrew. That wasn’t something they said, "Well, what’s this?" It was just another form of washing, washing, washing. So Paul says, move on. Don’t hang on to that. The laying on of hands, the same way. That was part and parcel of the external priesthood as was everything else. Now, the last two.


Hebrews 6:2b
"…and of resurrection of the dead and (the next part people don’t like to read) eternal judgment."

We know from research that the two main groups in the priesthood had a standing argument over what of all things whether there was such a thing as a resurrection of the dead. Jesus even mentions this as recorded in the gospels. Don’t hear that much anymore do you? The world doesn’t even think about the eternal judgment that’s coming. Eternal. How long is eternity? As long as God lives! That should make people think, shouldn’t it?

And where in eternity are you going to be? That’s up to the individual. Either in bliss and glory or eternal doom. Now, lest you think that some of this was unique only to the New Testament, let’s go all the way back to Job chapter 19, cause I just want you to see that Paul knew what he was talking about even though it was Spirit inspired, that the Hebrews knew of resurrection. Now of course, in modern Judaism, a lot of the Jews do not believe in a literal, viable life after death. I was just reading something by a Rabbi again the other night, that a lot of the Hebrews concepts of eternal life is that it will just keep going in our coming generations. In other words, your life continues with your children and your grandchildren. That’s one concept. But see, the Biblical concept was as you and I look at it - is that it is Eternal Life either separated from God or in His presence. And this we'll look at later. Alright, now, Job of course, a believer could write it like this. Remember Job is clear back before David. I think Job is kind of an enigma, nobody has ever yet written anything to satisfy me as to when Job lived and wrote. I’ve got my own pet ideas but I’m not that sure of it.

Job 19:25-26
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he (the Redeemer) shall stand at the latter day (where?) upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, (in other words he goes through physical death) yet in my flesh (in a resurrected body) shall I see God."


Now there’s resurrection life way back in Job’s day. See? Alright, let’s come on up to Daniel chapter 12, and we’ll start right up there at verse 1. I’m just trying to show you that these Hebrews to whom Paul was writing had an understanding of all these things. It wasn’t Greek to them.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXXIII

I Corinthians 3:10
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder. (the head contractor)I have laid (not a foundation, but what)the (the only) foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."

Get the picture. We had to leave that foundation that was offered to the Hebrews under the Gospel of the Kingdom, because that is now moot, rolled up and put away. But now we move to a New foundation which is that which this Apostle Paul has laid. Now, we have to be careful. Paul isn’t claiming to be the foundation. He’s merely the master contractor. He only laid the foundation. Now the next verse,

I Corinthians 3:11
"For other foundation can no man lay that that which is laid, and that is (what?) Jesus Christ."

That’s the foundation on which everything now rests. So it’s a moving, progressive thing. On your way back to Hebrews just stop at Galatians for a moment. Galatians chapter 1. Verses that we use so often.

But I use Galatians 1 so often in order to show the progressiveness of Paul’s writings, and let’s begin with verse 11, where Paul writes primarily to Gentiles. Now we’re not leaving the Hebrews out - they certainly have access to the Gospel of Grace the same as we do. But, it’s now primarily Gentiles who are to be responding, and this we get from Romans chapter 12. And so he says:


Galatians 1:11-13a
"I certify you, brethren, that the gospel (this Gospel of the Grace of God) which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, (by other men) but (here it comes now) by the revelation (what’s the other word for revelation? Revealing, or inspiration. What’s a revealing? Taking off the mask, see? Or the opening of a sealed book Revelation 5. And so) of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation (or manner of living) in times past in the Jews’ religion,…"

This is what he’s addressing back in Hebrews. He knew where those people were, because he’d been there. How do we say it today? Been there and done that? Yeah, that’s what Paul could have said, I’ve been there, done that. But you see, he’s had these new revelations concerning Christ Jesus. Now finishing verse 13.

Galatians 1:13b
"…how that beyond measure I persecuted the church (or assembly) of God, and wasted it:"
Then he goes on to say how that all of these truths that now come from his pen were revealed to him by the ascended Lord, where in his inward parts just the same as with us. In the same fashion that Peter was enabled to answer Jesus, "though are the Christ of God" (Matthew 16:16, John 6:69).

Galatians 1:16a
"To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen: (Gentiles)

We’re getting through to people. The Apostle Paul speaks of Christ on this side of the Cross. After the finished work of death, burial and resurrection. The Four Gospels are before the Cross with possibly one exception that of John and most people can’t understand that. Back to Hebrews 6.


Hebrews 6:1b
"…not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and faith toward God."

That was the very tenets or the precepts of the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus and the Twelve proclaimed to Israel. And Paul says, 'That’s moot.’ That’s no longer of any count. It is in the past, now gone forever. Now what are they? Six of them. In pairs. "Don’t lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God."

Now goodness sakes, didn’t all the Old Testament understand those two. Why of course. Israel was told more than once to repent of their iniquity and wickedness. Abraham was a man of what? Strong Trust which was accounted as Faith! So these were two concepts or precepts that weren’t new to the Hebrews. That was part and parcel of their history, see? And so Paul says, don’t just stay on that which has now become elementary. Now Dead works, wow!

We take you right back to Galatians. Let’s just go back. I should have used that before I went to Hebrews. Galatians 1 where we just were, 13 and 14 again. This is why he knew whereof he spoke. And even though every word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, we’ll never take that away from it, yet Paul had firsthand knowledge of what the Spirit was causing him to write. Alright, remember now what he says, not to lay the foundation of repentance from dead works. The old form of the Aaron's priesthood, the Levitical priesthood that is which only dealt in the external or material realm as it had no power or right to deal in the spiritual, in which we are now. It also had no means of redemption or a way of saving some one as there was no grace through it.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXXII

Acts 20:24
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."


That’s this Gospel of the Grace of God. That God in His mercy has seen fit to save those who simply place their trust in Him and believe – without works. Now if you’ll come back to Hebrews again. So Paul is saying now, once you’ve come through these words of Jesus in His earthly ministry establishing Who He was. Making all the promises that had been confirmed to the fathers and through the Prophets. Because, when Israel rejected all that and crucified their Messiah, in reality, they were just simply fulfilling the Sovereign blueprint of God because Christ had to die. He had to go to the Cross. But nevertheless, in a system that the mere humans can’t understand fully, God made it a valid offer to the Nation of Israel to accept the King and the Kingdom.

But God knew that they wouldn’t. He knew that they would reject it and He knew that they would bring in the crucifixion which brought about our Gospel. Alright, so now then Paul says, don’t stay on just that foundation. Don’t try to tear it up and build another one. Or don’t try to put another foundation on top of that one. Let that one be and let’s move on. And see that is just what our religious system has been found doing through its ceremonies of religious rituals by way of covert pagan idols and gods being worshiped under the guise of and name of God or His Son. Even Peter warns against such things in our passages used earlier and we'll see more in this Epistle as well. Now getting back to our main subject.

I guess I would have to use an analogy here I like to bring everything down to an everyday experience. I think we see it over and over especially in our mobile society. Maybe a young couple has been successful in a city. We’ll just say right here in Cleveland. And they have just made plans to build a new home. They’ve got the foundation poured. All of sudden he gets a job change. He has to go to a different part of the country for pursuit of his job.

Well, what are they going to do? First, they’re not going to finish building their new home. They’ll probably try to sell it for whatever it is, but the analogy I want to make is that they are not going to build on that foundation which is no longer appropriate because they’re moving to a different city. Now when they leave Cleveland and go to his new job opportunity, all things being equal, now what are they going to do? They’re going to lay another foundation and they’re going to start building now granted this may require a few years. Does that help? They'll start over again with anew foundation.

Alright, that’s what we’ve got here. The foundation for the Gospel of the Kingdom was laid and we’ll be looking at some of the precepts of it. But, now we’ve got something better, so move on!

Let’s look at the foundation of this Gospel of the Grace of God that we’re going to be talking about. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 dropping in at verse 10. Now Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles is writing to Gentiles under this whole new revelation of the mysteries or the secrets which includes the Gospel of the Grace of God and he’s dealing with these Corinthians much like he does the Hebrews there in chapters 5 and 6, that they’re to come on away from their material, or external and carnality and become spiritual and get into the meat of the matter. The Hebrews were not known for being spiritual people as their religion was based on an external priesthood which dealt primarily with things material or earthy. They were works orientated because there was no room made for redemption or forgiveness of wrongs done, their penalty was death. They were warned about what we call a blinded gospel or trying to use both the old and the new under the same umbrella. Both warned of by Jeremiah and the other prophets not to do. Then the Lord Jesus Himself warns them about doing such a thing again in His parable of the old cloth and the new cloth and the old wine skin and the new wine. Back to our lesson:

Because he says the same thing in verse 2 of this chapter. He says, "I fed you with milk not with meat." (why?) "Because up to this time you were not able to bear it." See they were babes in Christ. So we’ve got pretty much the same setting. But now look at verse 10.

I Corinthians 3:10
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder. (the head contractor) I have laid (not a foundation, but what) the (the only) foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXXI

Acts 1:6
"When they therefore, were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom again to Israel?"

What’s on their mind? The Kingdom. When Israel could live at peace and prosperity. In Matthew 19, Peter said, "Well now we left all. We left our fishing nets; we left our families to follow you. What are we going to have therefore?" What was Jesus’ answer? "You twelve," that’s why Peter was in such a hurry to fill Judas’ slot. He says, "You twelve are going to sit on twelve thrones ruling the Twelve Tribes of the Nation of Israel."

Are these Pie in the sky? Fictitious words? No! That’s exactly what was ahead of them and it still is, because the Kingdom is still coming! When the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled....

Hebrews 6:1b
"…not laying again the foundation; of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God."

Alright, we’re just going to stop with that first phrase "not laying again the foundation." Have you ever stopped to think what that really means? Or put it into everyday life? If you’re going to build a home and you’ve got the foundation laid, what are you going to do, tear it up and pour another one? Of course not. You’re going to start building.

But see, what were those people doing? They were trying to tear up the old foundation and just go back where they were before in the dead works of self effort and the works or materialism of and external religion of their past. Remember that the primary subject of the Epistle of Hebrews are the Hebrews. Not exclusively. My, there’s so much in here for us but the primary subjects here are Hebrews who were still steeped in the Judaism of their past. They had recognized Jesus and His Messiahship. They had believed Who He was. They had embraced the Gospel of the Kingdom. But that had all been changed because of the mysteries or secrets revealed to Paul but not yet fully understood by the others. As Peter reveals to us as found in 2 Peter chapter 3 starting with verse 15 where he too has a warning, like those we'll see later in this Epistle to the Hebrews:

2 Peter 3:15-18
“And account the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given to him has written to you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. We therefore, beloved, seeing we know these things before, beware lest we also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from our own steadfastness. But grow in Grace, and the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”

That’s as far as they’d gotten. And Paul is trying to move them now to progress towards this further revelation which, of course, is now not just for the Hebrews, but now it’s for the whole human race, both Hebrew and Gentile. And that is this Gospel of the Grace of God.

Now allow me show you the term before we go further. I can come back to Hebrews so just hold your hand here in Hebrews. Come back with me to Acts chapter 20 verse 24. Paul of course, refers to this Gospel of his in various forms. He’ll call it my Gospel, the Gospel and the Gospel of Grace. He’ll call it that Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. He’ll call it the Gospel of Christ. But here in this verse, I like this one, because he calls it what we call it. Here in Acts 20, this is toward the end of his ministry as well and he said:

Acts 20:24
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

Can we get it any plainer? I don’t know how. And that is not the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Gospel of the Grace of God is that God has now through the person of the Son, died the horrible death of the Cross. Shed His blood, was buried three days and three nights in the tomb, and arose victorious over everything. That’s the Gospel of the Grace of God, remember that Grace means its a done deal and is the benefit of our benefactor. God picks up where we as humans don't have the ability or strength to accomplish what is required. He takes our having to work for a thing out of our hands as the Hebrews proved it impossible for man to do any thing required of God. And now it makes it possible for anyone to become a believer. Not just the Hebrews, not just the Gentiles, but rather the whole human race.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXX

Acts 16:14
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God. heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."

There’s not a one of you sitting out there that can get one ounce of sense out of this Book without the Lord opening your understanding. There is not a person on this earth who has ever experienced true redemption and then salvation but that God didn’t open first their heart. Now, I’m not a ‘Five Point’ Calvinist. Don’t get me wrong. Nor am I a ‘Ten Point’ Armenian or whatever they call them. But I keep the thing in the middle. But yes, God does have to initiate. God does have to open the understanding and then the individual has to make his choice. That’s the way I look at it because that's what the Word says.

So Peter says, "you’re the Christ." And Jesus said, "Blessed are you Peter, this is all I wanted to know." Now you know what I call this? Peter’s profession of faith. But what does Peter not mention? Death, burial and resurrection. Peter doesn’t say, "Now I understand that you’re going to go to that Cross and die for my sins. You’re going to be raised from the dead. That’s what I believe." No, because these things were hid from their understanding just as they remain hid from Israel to this day.

No, Peter had no idea that Christ was going to go to a Cross. Now, to prove that point we need to go to Luke 18. We’ve used it many times before, but like I said, we’ve got a lot of new people everyday so hopefully for them this is all fresh. And this again is in about the same time frame as Matthew 16. They’re on their way up to Jerusalem for the last Passover and the Crucifixion. And that most of Christendom don’t know this passage is even in their Bible and if they do, they don’t read it or acknowledge it let alone understand it.


Luke 18:31
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished."

Now we’ve got to be careful. These things that Jesus is referring to were back there in the Old Testament but they were in such veiled language that nobody really knew or understood what they meant. Of course, I’m referring primarily to the Psalms and Isaiah 53. You all know those verses. "He is lead as a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb openeth not his mouth," and so on and so forth.

None of the Hebrews in Israel understood that that was a reference to a coming crucifixion. But you see, Jesus knew. And so he says, "everything that was written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished." Now verse 32.

Luke 18:32-33
"For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, (the Romans) and he shall be mocked, spitefully entreated and spitted on: (not only by the Romans but His fellows, His brothers) And they shall scourge him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again."

Did Jesus know the end from the beginning? Of course! He knew exactly which Roman soldier would wield the whip. He knew exactly where the soldier was at this particular moment in time who would drive the spikes. He knew exactly what the high priest was going to do. There wasn’t anything hidden from Him. He know the secret things of God that are hid from the unredeemed's eyes or understanding.

I may have pointed it out, when He was sweating those drops of blood there in the Garden of Gethsemane and the disciples were sleeping. What did Jesus know? All of this. He knew it was coming. That’s why He said, "Father if it be possible let this cup be taken from me." He knew the suffering that was lying ahead, and He did here in this passage, as well. But now look what the disciple’s knew.

Luke 18:34
"And they (the Twelve) understood none (my, highlight that word, or underline it) of these things and this saying was hid from them."

Who hid it? God did! It wasn’t time for them to know. Then why did Jesus say it? Except to prove to us that He knew and they didn’t. This is just one of those things revealed but it was in what? plain sight as are most of the secrets or mysteries of God, that are throughout the scriptures. Deuteronomy chapter 29 and verse 29 tells us they're there for our finding and our understanding and not just for us but also for our children and grandchildren forever.

If you have an argument with that, you know what I come back and tell people. If you don’t believe this, then tell me, why weren’t these believers, these followers of Jesus in His earthly ministry, why weren’t they parked outside the tomb waiting for His resurrection? Well were they? No! They’d long given up. They’d even mentioned at least, that they were going to go back to their fishing. But here they are completely unaware that Christ was going to be going to the Cross. Why? Because they were all hung up on His bringing in the Kingdom, in fact that is still their hangup to this day.

I’ve got one more verse. Come all the way to Acts chapter 1 lest you think that this whole idea of an earthly kingdom was a figment of my imagination or someone else’s. No, this was on the apostle’s mind constantly. Acts chapter 1 verse 6. Now this is after His resurrection. And He’s been with the eleven. Judas of course, is gone. He’s been with the eleven now 40 days, and He’s ready to ascend back to Glory. And He tells them to wait ten days until the Holy Spirit would come on the day of Pentecost. He had to release Him upon His return.

But look what’s on the mind of these eleven men. That’s what I want you to see. After three years of earthly ministry, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Good News to Israel, that the King and the Kingdom were ready to be presented:

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXIX

Luke 1:75
"In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life."

Now let’s go back to Matthew once again. So after the disciples had been commanded to have nothing to do with Gentiles, we go through Christ’s earthly ministry and you have the Sermon on the Mount and all these high moral statements. Which of course, are certainly profitable. But for us we maintain that there’s no doctrine of Grace in the Four Gospels, as they were still under the Law. But the symbols and parables or metaphors are there “IF” we have ears to hear and eyes to see in order to discern the spiritual meaning. As Jesus spoke allot of this about the things that were to become but not in plan language.

But there’s still a lot to learn. Just like we’re finding out in this Epistle of Hebrews. Now, I’m going to bring you all the way up to chapter 16 which is the end of Christ’s earthly ministry. And even though they are as yet up in Northern Israel, at the headwaters of the Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi. Yet, they’re soon going to be making their way south and up again to Jerusalem for the Passover and the Crucifixion. All has to be fulfilled as given in the Covenants, promises and the Law in what was called the last days or as an everlasting covenant and in both Christ is the subject as the everlasting and as the covenant. Which is meant to tie Him and the Last Passover meal into what is called the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, Jesus being the Lamb of God's choosing. Because in Him all the Old Testament promises, covenants, the Law and the Prophets find there culmination or completion in fulfillment. Because with His resurrection and ascension is brought in the promised New Covenant of an Everlasting or Endless Life.

Alright, now look what Jesus is doing as we read Matthew 16:13. This is all part of this Gospel of the Kingdom from which the readers of Paul’s Epistles were to move on from, they are instructed to leave it, and to move on to better things.

Matthew 16:13
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’"

What is He asking? Whom do the rank and file think I am, the Hebrews among whom we have been performing miracles, whom we’ve been feeding the multitudes, and healing the sick. Whom do most of those people think I am? And here’s their answer. Look at this. I mean this is shocking. This was the answer.

Matthew 16:14
"And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias, and other, Jeremias, or one of the prophets."
Imagine! After three years of trying to prove to the Hebrew Nation that He was the fulfillment of all those Old Testament promises, covenants and the Prophets. He was their Messiah. He was the Son of God, and they think anything but whom He really is. Now verse 15.

Matthew 16:15-16
"He saith unto them, (remember these are the twelve. Judas is yet included.) but whom say you that I am? (and Peter of course is always the spokesman and so he speaks up) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

What’s the other word for Christ? Messiah! I had the other day someone that was bemoaning the fact that so much of Christendom uses Jesus Christ as a first and last name. Well, I hope you all know better than that. Christ isn’t His last name; it’s His title. And that’s why once in a while you’ll hear me slip in ‘Jesus the Christ’ which is really the most accurate. Because that’s what He was. He was Jesus the Messiah. Or if you want to reverse it, Messiah Jesus, Christ Jesus as His risen state requires as a proper title of position and respect for His divine Authority. He is no longer just Jesus Christ or Jesus the Christ as this was His earthly state or title of position as the Son of man while in our proper estate as a God-child. As we'll see later He's now our High Priest-King and due all respect because of His placement by God the Father of spirits. Who bestowed on Him a name that is above all names.

So now, this is what He’s saying. "Whom do you say that I am? And Peter said, ‘you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’" Did Peter have it straight? Yeah! he did. And now look what Jesus said.

Matthew 16:17
"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

We are going to cover this same concept a little later in Hebrews chapter 6. Even these disciples fixing their nets on the shores of Galilee and Jesus came by. Now a lot of you know the Four Gospels better than I do. What did Jesus say to them? "Come follow me." Did they ask a ton of questions? Well, did they say, "Who are you? What are you up to? What’s your agenda? What’s in it for me? What did they do?" They dropped their nets and they followed. Why? Because the moment Jesus spoke, God opened up the understanding of these men. "There’s the One we’re looking for. There’s the One Who is fulfilling all the Old Testament promises." And without question, they followed, do you see? They knew that He was the Christ, and so here Jesus makes it so plain. On what basis did they know? God revealed it! He revealed it not by way of an external hearing but rather an internal knowing just as we're to know by what we call inspiration of revelation through the work of the Holy Spirit.

You know if you've followed our postings that we're always using the verse in Acts and we're saying Lord give us Lydias. Why? Because when Paul and Silas had finished presenting this Gospel to those Jewish women there at Philippi, the next verse says:

Acts 16:14
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God. heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXVIII

Luke 1:70-71
"As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our(not sins yet but what?) enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;"

Goodness gracious, who were Israel’s enemies at the time of Christ’s first advent? The same one’s today. It is no difference as there was Egypt, Syria, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the other Gentiles all around them. They were their enemies. Alright, so they’re going to "be saved from their enemies and all those that hate both them and us." How many is that? The rest of the world.

Ever since World War II we like to sort of stick our head in the sand and think that anti-Semitism is a thing of the past. Don’t you believe it. Anti-Semitism is raising its ugly head more and more every day. Now we all know why the Arab world hates Americans. And they do, they hate us! Not because of our prosperity, although that’s certainly a part of it. The liberals would like to make us think that that’s the problem, you know, we’ve got so much and they’ve got so little. No. The root problem is that they feel that we love and are going to do everything we can to support the Nation of Israel and I think it was Osama bin Laden as much as said that. If Americans will quit supporting Israel then he would have backed off too. So that’s basically what’s behind everything, it is the hate for the Nation of Israel. Alright read on, and when this king would come He would come to:

Luke 1:72-73
"To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, (same fathers that Paul referred to in Romans. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets and so forth.) and to remember his holy covenant; The covenant (or the oath)which he swore to our father Abraham."

It’s been a long time since we’ve rehearsed the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant began back in Genesis chapter 12. Where God made three basic tenets to that Covenant.

That Abrahamic Covenant comprised, first the promise of a geographical area of land. Secondly, within that land, He would place a nation of people, the favored nation. The Nation of Israel. The third part of that Covenant was that in order to control the Nation living within the borders of that geographical area of land, He would have to establish a government. And this government is going to be in the person of a King and this King is going to be the Son of God. The Redeemer, the Messiah and that was all promised to Israel. Now those are the generalities.

You see, we have to come through the Scriptures to pick this all up. Because even though this is promised back there in Genesis 15, 16 and 17, yet we do not have the revelation of Who this King is going to be until we get clear up into Samuel. And through the prophet Samuel and Nathan, God reveals that it’s going to be through the House of David. The bloodline of King David and Solomon and Nathan. And through that genealogy then of course, came Jesus of Nazareth. Now that was all part and parcel of that Abrahamic Covenant. Before we continue it may be a good time to say that even the New Covenant of Grace, the Everlasting Covenant is not so called in so many words but like that of which we just spoke of, it requires our putting scriptures together and that mostly by inspiration of revelation by the Holy Spirit. For its only in the Spirit that we'll gain the victory over those things hidden in scriptures because it is He who inspired their writing. Back to Luke, verse 74,

Luke 1:74
"That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out the hand of our enemies, (peace, prosperity. No fear) and that we might serve him without fear."
That’s what Israel is still looking for. Oh maybe, not so much on the spiritual level but oh, how they’re longing for peace. When they can go to bed at night and not have to worry about having to dive for a bomb shelter. You know, I read some time ago that up there in Northern Israel, just below the Lebanese border, there are generations of young people who from babyhood on up never slept in their regular bed. They slept in beds in bomb shelters in order to be protected from the constant bombarding from the Hezbollah and so forth.

How Israel is longing for peace! And they’re getting just about ready to sell their soul to get it. Well, it does get kind of provoking when you can’t walk down the street without fear of being blown to smithereens. It does get frustrating when you can’t drive down the highway without wondering, well, am I next? My land, you’d be in constant fear. But, this is what Israel is longing for.

Alright, "That he would grant unto us that we be delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear." Now here comes the spiritual element.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXVII

Matthew 10:5a
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and he commanded them, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans (who were half-breeds) enter ye not 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Now that’s plain language. As plain as language can get. Do NOT go to the Gentiles. Go only to the Nation of Israel, to the twelve tribes, to the lost sheep! Now let that sink in, and the next time you try to share it in your Sunday School class, they’ll run you out the back door more than likely. Yeah, I’ve got heads nodding, because you’ve experienced it. Oh, they don’t want to hear that, but see this is what Paul wrote in Romans.


Romans 15:8
"Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the father:"

And what were those promises made to the fathers? That Israel was to be the favored nation of priests before God and the world. And that God the Son would come and be a physical King as well as a Redeemer. And the Nation of Israel could come to that place of blessings. Living in peace and prosperity. Okay? Now reading on in Matthew 10. Let’s look now verse 7.

Matthew 10:7
"And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Let’s jump over to Luke chapter one for just a second and get a glimpse of what it was to be for the Nation of Israel. Chronologically, of course, we’re going to back up a few years because this is when the angel had announced to Zacharias and Elizabeth that they were going to have a child. Now he’s just been born. Luke chapter 1 and we'll going to drop in at verse 67. And the angel has announced that this child John the Baptist to be born of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who also were in their older years, that he was going to be the herald of the King, and Messiah. Why? Were they chosen because Zachatias was the high priest in the order of Aaron, a Levitt. Now, when the King would come, you see, this is what Israel was looking for in fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers. And we'll repeat it and repeat it and repeat it till you hear it in your sleep. This is what Jesus came to fulfill.

Luke 1:67a
"And his father (that is John the Baptist’s father) Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost,…" He wasn’t just glibly speaking some Jewish hopefuls, but rather he was speaking the very mind of God and look what he says:

Luke 1:68
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; (Exclusive? Well, I reckon. This isn’t including the world. This is Israel.)for he hath visited and redeemed his people,"

Now, ever since Genesis chapter 12 and the giving of the Abrahamic Covenant, who were God’s people? Israel! We all know that, and they’re still the ones we’re talking about here, their the ones through whom God had chosen to bring about His plan and through whom He would bring His son as foretold, the woman of Genesis 3:15 in whom the seed is carried. Now this seed is also within all mankind hidden in our soul awaiting its re-birth. This seed was what the Lord went into Abraham's bosom to proclaim this Gospel to and then lead the captivity up into the heavenliest after His resurrection and before His appearance to the disciples. This is seen and known by the earth quake which rolled the stone from the tomb and the dead who walked the streets of Jerusalem early in the morning of the first day of the week (Luke 20:37; Matthew 22:3-33; Matthew 28:2, 27:52-53 now the correct timing is off here as this sounds like it was while Jesus was still on the cross and after He had given up the Ghost. Now verse 69.

Luke 1:69
"And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David."

How many Gentiles are in the House of David? Not one! Now granted a few of the women came in by marriage, I’m not denying that. But largely speaking the House of Israel was Hebrew only. Now verses 70 and 71.

Luke 1:70-71
"As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our(not sins yet but what?) enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXVI

Matthew 9:35b
"…and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

There were none excepted! That’s the difference. When Jesus healed the multitudes, He healed them all, but they weren’t all believers. Don’t ever get that idea. The press, as we sometimes refer to it, those multitudes in upon Him, hey, they weren’t following Him because of His spiritual offer. They were following Him for what I said before, the free lunch! Nothing did they like better when He came out with those loaves and fishes.

I’m going to be making reference to it sometimes as I go into this Epistle of Hebrews, but remember back in John’s Gospel, when the disciples had been fishing all night and caught nothing? And they came to shore and there the Lord was. He asked them, you remember, "Have you any food, any meat?" "No," they replied, "Haven’t caught a thing all night." But, in the next verse it tells us that while He was standing there on the shore. What was also beside Him on the shore? "Bread and fish on the fire." So what we have to understand is the fact that all that was done was in a material or external-ism of sight, sound, smell, taste or feeling realm as was that of the priesthood and the law and prophets. We're told to walk by trusting God in the spiritual capacity and internal non-material world of the Word or law of God.

Since He’s the Creator, He’s the perfect operator of everything. Have you ever stopped to think, He must be the best chef the world has ever seen or known? I’ll bet that was the best tasting fish and bread that those disciples had ever tasted! And that gave rise then to the Lord’s question. "Peter do you love me more than – those?"

And I bet it was kind of tough to say, why yes Lord, because that must have been mighty good tasting food. Well, that’s beside the point. But He came to fulfill all the promises given to the Nation of Israel. And when He did He healed every sickness. Every disease. Because after all what was He proving? That He was the Christ! That’s what these "words of the beginning of Christ" were to do. To prove to Israel Who He was and is.

Now then, let’s skip over into chapter 10. And you have no idea how mad people can get when you show them these verses. You wouldn’t think people would get angry at the Word of God, would you? Oh but they do. If it flies in the face of what they’ve always thought, been taught and known. Oh, they get angry. There's heads nodding all over the place out there, I just know there are!. Sunday School teachers you know what it’s like. Oh they can get angry. But look what it says, I probably wont do it justice. I don’t think I can, but anyway. Chapter 10 verse 1,


Matthew 10:1-2a
"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these;…"

He’s imparting to them the same power that He had. Now we’re not going to go through and rehearse them because you all certainly know who the Twelve disciples were but alright we’ll come all the way down to verse 5.

Hebrews 6:1a
"Therefore,…"

Because of what has just been said in the last verses of chapter 5, that it was necessary to feed them milk because they weren’t ready for meat. So Paul says:

Hebrews 6:1a
"Therefore leaving (or moving on from) the principles (or the words of the beginning of Christ, and) of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;…" (or unto a maturity)

This is just like the Bible as a whole. Yeah! It’s a progressive revelation from Genesis to the book of Revelation; it’s a progressively revealing the things of God and of Christ. Alright, so now then to take another look at the "words of the beginning of Christ" or His earthly ministry. We’re going to go right back where we left off and that was in Matthew chapter 10.

We saw in chapter 9, that Jesus went everywhere preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. My, very few people understand that that is not this Gospel of the Grace of God. This Gospel of the Grace of God was that which was revealed to the Apostle Paul through the revelation of the mysteries (Deuteronomy 29:29 remember). But the Gospel of the Kingdom is what Jesus and, beginning with John the Baptist and the twelve, are proclaiming to the Nation of Israel and that is the good news that the King is here. He’s ready to give them the promised Kingdom that was promised all the way back to the Abrahamic Covenant. Now, in view of those promises then, we jumped into chapter 10 and we have the twelve disciples chosen and now here comes their marching orders. In verse 5:

Matthew 10:5a
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and He commanded them, (now listen, when the Lord of Glory gave a command, that was not to be taken lightly. That was set in concrete and He commanded them) Go not into the way of the Gentiles,…" Did you hear that? Did you see that? How many times must we read this before we see it and understand just what He's telling them. We, my wife and I even as assistant adult Sunday School teachers missed or skipped over these verses back we were there. And I know if we did then there are thousands of others who do also.

Matthew 10:5a-6
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and he commanded them, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans (who were half-breeds) enter ye not But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXV

Matthew 5:17
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but (what?) to fulfill."
Isn’t that exactly what Paul just said in Romans? Why did He come? To fulfill the promises made to the fathers. Now, back in Exodus, what did God promise that the Jewish people could be individually? Priests and an holy nation of God (Exodus 19:6). Every Hebrew was to become a ‘go-between.’ Well, between God and who? The Gentiles. Those pagans out there around them. Now it wasn’t going to be tomorrow or next month. But in some fashion, after hundreds of years, Israel was going to have that opportunity and responsibility to announce their Messiah and King as Redeemer of the Gentile world.

Alright then you come all the way up, based of course, on that Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12. Isaiah writes so plainly that the Nation of Israel is to be a light to the Gentiles and then Daniel introduces us to the whole concept of an earthly kingdom over which the stone, cut out without hands, which of course, is always a reference to Christ, would take over and rule the whole planet.

Zechariah tells us as plain as day, that when He would return and stand on the Mt. of Olives, He would set up a kingdom. He would rule from Jerusalem and He would be King over all the earth.

So, those were all promises to the spiritual Hebrew at least, probably not all of them, but the spiritual part of Israel would understood, though few in number, that this was what was in their future. That God Himself in the person of the Messiah, the Son of God (the God-child, Immanuel), would be coming and establishing an earthly kingdom with His capital in Jerusalem and Israel would enjoy all those promises of Deuteronomy 27 and 28. And what are those promises? Oh, you’ll not be the tail; you’ll be the head! You’ll be blessed when you go out; you’ll be blessed when you come in.

Those are the promises that Israel was longing for. And oh, they’re looking for them even today. Maybe not in the right quarters, but in their heart. Now those of you who read anything at all of the Hebrew people. In the heart of every Hebrew, for centuries, has been that longing statement ‘next year’ what? Yeah, you got it. ‘Next year Jerusalem.’ Sounds like farmers. You know farmers are always waiting for the next year. But, that was the heart of the Hebrew. ‘Next year Jerusalem.’ Next year peace! Jerusalem. The Prince of Peace ruling and reigning.

Alright, those were the promises that Christ came to the Nation of Israel to fulfill or to bring to completion. And that’s what he’s talking about. He’s not talking about the Cross here. He’s talking about fulfilling those Old Testament promises. But He wasn’t coming to destroy the Law. He wasn’t coming to destroy the prophets. He came to fulfill (complete) everything that they’d been writing about. See? ‘To confirm the promises, to complete them, to bring them to their just end.’ To cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment (to make complete).

Now, turn with us ahead a couple of pages to chapter 9, still here in Matthew and just drop in at verse 35. Now don’t lose sight of what we're trying to show here. We’re looking at the "words of the beginning of Christ"His earthly ministry. What was He telling those Jewish people? That those people that Paul is addressing now in this Epistle of Hebrews had evidently embraced, they had become followers and believers of Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. In fulfillment of scripture. Also don’t forget your time setting. The Epistle of Hebrews is being written at a time when most of those people to whom Paul is writing were certainly adults during Christ’s earthly ministry, even as Paul himself was. So he’s talking about people who had probably become believers during Christ’s earthly ministry. And now the whole idea of this Epistle of Hebrews is ‘move on or moving on.’

You know when we first started the book way back in chapter 1, remember we reminded you that throughout this Epistle of Hebrews it says "that was good, but this is better." Sure. And what is that? That’s a progression. Moving out of that which is good and going on to something Better. But now we’re still back here at the beginnings of the words of Christ.


Matthew chapter 9:35a
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching (now if you haven’t underlined it before, underline it now) the gospel of the kingdom,…"
Now what does that word Gospel always mean? Good news! He was announcing the good news of the kingdom.

What did that mean? Hey, He’s the King! He’s here! On the earth! Ready to fulfill the promises. So He’s preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven. Now along with that Gospel of the Kingdom of course, we have, read on.

Matthew 9:35b
"…and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXIV

Hebrews 6:1a
"…the principles of the doctrine of Christ…."

I know I’m taking this slow, because I just reminded myself, don’t get in a hurry. Take this chapter slow!’ We’re going to take it slow. Because this is so important that people understand that here we have to see these Hebrews, to whom of course, the Epistle is primarily written, understand now that they cannot rest on the status quo. They certainly don’t want to be left slipping backward or become slothful. But rather they’ve got to move on ahead in their experience and their knowledge of the Word of God and there by grow in the Knowledge of God and the Lord Christ Jesus. Or as the Lord asked in Matthew chapter 11 “are you ready to take My yoke upon you and Learn of Me?” And the only way they could do that would be to "leave the words of the beginning of Christ." Now that just flies in the face of most of Christendom. Doesn’t it? What were the "words of the beginning of Christ?" What are the ‘principles of Christ?’ It’s in the Four Gospels! His earthly ministry to Israel!

Let's stop for a moment and ask what does the church of our day do? They ignore the words and warnings of Jesus by mixing the scriptures of the Old Testament in what could be called a slurry and then try to make a doctrine of them. Problem is that people no longer know what is truth from fiction and this is why there's no "power" in the church. Oh there maybe a form of power but in most cases its a power that man generates which does not last and causes great harm because it only leaves people wanting, starving and depressed and wondering in the wilderness of sin. Alright, let’s look at what Paul says concerning that in Romans chapter 15 verse 8. And again I imagine the vast majority of people who read their Bibles skim over this verse and never really understand what it says. But oh, it’s loaded! This says it all - of what we’re looking at now, that we’re going to have to move away from the first words of Christ, and His earthly ministry. Because, here’s the purpose.


Romans 15:8
"Now I say, that Jesus Christ was (past tense) a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers."

Just look at that! You know, I read in the Jerusalem Post from cover to cover off the internet. And, quite often, there’s an article in there with regard to these young Jewish men who are in Yeshiva. And of course, that’s part and parcel of Israel’s history. Now what do these young Jewish men do in a Yeshiva? Well, they’ll sit there day in and day out and contemplate maybe one verse of the Torah. And they’ve been doing it for centuries. And what do they still hope to do? Pull something out of there that some previous Rabbi had never seen. But for what purpose now that our and their Lord has come, died, was buried, rose from the dead and ascended back to the Fathers right hand, is my question. The only answer I can find is that they don't believe and so they remain in their sin. If they remain in their sin where are the churches that do likewise, they remain in the same sin, is the answer.

Alright, now I don’t expect anybody to do that. We’re not in Yeshivas but goodness sakes let’s take a verse like this now again, and pick it apart. What does it really say? Well it says that Jesus Christ was the ministry of the circumcision. Who is the circumcision? Israel, the Hebrews! So Paul that great Apostle of the Gentiles, is reminding us, that Jesus Christ in the "beginning of His words" here on earth was to what people? Israel.

You know we're always stressing every word that Jesus said in His earthly ministry with two exceptions was always to the Hebrews under the Levitical Law. Oh goodness, that rattles people. I get a kick out of how it does, because it just sort of makes me smile that people can get so shook up with truth. That reminds me, we had a couple from out east someplace send an e-mail. I’m not going to identify them. But anyway one of the clergy of their particular denomination was with them. When they were doing a reading of one of our blogs in their Bible studies.

Well, it didn’t take them two minutes to see that the guy was just enraptured with what he was seeing. Oh, he was just eating it up. So this couple said, "We’re going to make sure that he’s back." But he wasn’t there. And they said, "Well, goodness sakes, what happened?" "Ah," they said, "he didn’t want to be confused with the truth!"

Isn’t that right? People say, "Don’t bother me with facts. I’m satisfied with whatever flies." But listen, we’re going to look at this in Truth. Not what I say, but rather what does the Book say? "Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision." And then what’s the next statement? "For the Truth of God." Now that just nails it down. This wasn’t something that flippantly came off the lips of the Apostle Paul. This was in accord with the whole Sovereign working of the Creator God, that Christ should come to the Nation of Israel. And then what does the rest of the verse say? "To confirm the promises made to the fathers." Who were the fathers? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the rest of the Old Testament patriarchs. David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah you name them, He came to confirm all the promises, the Law and the Prophets.

They were all talking about the coming of this Messiah King. And that’s what Jesus came to proclaim. That He was the fulfillment of those promises made to the fathers of Israel, see? And that’s so hard for people to comprehend. They think that Jesus came - like I had one guy explode, "Ah," he said, "What do you do with John 3:16, throw it away?" No, John 3:16 was the fulfillment of Christ coming to His earthly people. And then when He was rejected, not once but six more times then yes, then He went to the whole world. And He had His man in the wings because he knew that Peter nor any of the others had the stuff He required for the job, so He had Saul of Tarsus. Besides what John declares is the same that the writer of this Epistle says in chapter 1 verse 5: "Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?" and this is a quote from Psalm 2 verse 7 " I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten thee." which was written by King David as a conversation between the God the Father and Yhovah the Son.

But for three years, He was the minister of the circumcision, for the Truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers. Now see when you pick it apart and take it slow, doesn’t it make sense. Sure it does. Just as sensible as it can be that He came to fulfill those Old Testament promises. He never once told those twelve disciples, "I’m going to be going to the Cross and be crucified and then raise up another Apostle and send him to the Gentiles," - at least not in a way that they could understand it.

Before we go any further we'll look at what John reveals about the Truth and our main subject Grace in John chapter 1 verses 14 and 17. We'll begin with verse ten:
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God. And the Word was made (put on) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of Grace and Truth.
John bare witness of Him, and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, He that comes after me is preferred before me: for He was before me.
And of His fulness have all we received, and Grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by (through, in) Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared (to unfold the things of, lead us to)the Father."

Now what we need to understand is this, that John is rehearsing what he had seen and heard first hand before and then from after the Lord ascended back to Glory or was taken up into Heaven. That's about as plan as it can get, He came to His own, the Hebrews, as they were the chosen people to whom and through whom the promised redeemer would come was made. As the end of the "everlasting" period of time or the end of the Hebrew only Age. The term "everlasting" only spoke of the Christ or Messiah of promise as the completion of this Age. The one to whom all the promises, covenants, commandments and Law pointed toward as their end. Christ come to bring Truth and Grace, the Will of God to bear on us all.


Now then, let’s go back and see some of those "words of the beginning of Christ." And let’s just jump all the way back to the Book of Matthew. We’re going to jump in first at Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. And this of course, is the beginning of His earthly ministry. And Jesus said:

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXIII

Hebrews 6:1a
"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrines (or the teachings) of Christ, let us go unto perfection…."

I’m going to stop right there. Because I’m thinking, there is so much right there, that the casual reader just reads over it. Here's what many tell us "You’ve taught me how to read!" Well, not that they couldn’t read as reading goes. But, people don’t stop to analyze what it really says, see? And this is what we have to do. So, "Therefore," since we have to come away from that milk-bottle, the signs, miracles and wonders environment and get into the deeper things that we can share with other people, we have to start someplace and what’s the next word? "Leaving." Now what do you suppose leaving means? Well, it means what it says!

Come back with us to Ephesians chapter 5 and here we have the whole marriage situation for us in this Age of Grace. The husband and wife relationship, so I want you to drop in at verse 31. And all I’m doing this for is so that you get the meaning of the word leaving.

Ephesians 5:31
"For this case shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."

Let's look at that a little more than just seeing a beautiful wedding ceremony. What really happens when a young couple gets married and sets up their own home? What happens between them and their parents? Well, they don’t forsake them. They don’t say, "Bye, Dad! I’ll see you in Glory!" That isn’t what marriage does. Marriage is still connected to both generations.

In short order what does that young couple suddenly realize? The rent is due, car and insurance payments have to be made. Groceries have to be bought. The electric bill, and the phone bill are staring them in the face. Hey, they’ve never had this before, for the most part. And so what is it? It’s a whole progressive step from living in the home nest, to all of a sudden establishing a home of their own. But they don’t forsake that which has gone before, they merely move on away from it, still keeping the ties to the home folks. Now isn’t that understandable?

This all started back in Genesis. You have the same word; "therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife." This is the whole concept. But the point we're trying to make, it’s not a matter of totally forsaking the parents, it’s simply moving on. In fact, the more we study Hebrews, the more we’ve come to the conclusion under the heading of the Epistle to the Hebrews, they could have added a letter promoting progression, because that’s what Hebrews is all about. To keep moving and moving. And as we were studying a little bit, we couldn’t help but think, that in the world around us, isn’t that exactly true? There is no status quo, at least not until you retired. And Glenda and I have talked on what it’d be like to be retired? We now have an idea! But for the average person going through life, there is no status quo if you’re going to succeed in life. Now this was some time ago as now we're retired and we have more time to spend in our studies of scriptures. It's amazing what we're learning as now we can take our time to slowly research words and phrases and then ask a few questions where and when needed of the Holy Spirit to get what He means or meant.

What am I saying? Whether it’s a sports team, a pro-football team, a college program, a business, a marriage, or an education, you have to either keep moving forward, be it ever so infinitesimal, you’ve got to keep moving forward or else what? Back you go! We stall out and we become slothful.

We’re using the analogy of a salmon swimming up stream or if in this application we're in canoe and paddling up stream. Oh, you may not be making much headway but I’ll tell you what, the minute you pull that paddle out of the water you’re going to make some movement! But it’s going to be back down stream.

Alright, now that’s exactly the way we have to look at Scripture. There is no such thing in this progressive unfolding of the Word of God as a status quo. We have to either keep moving on and learning and getting deeper into the Word or we're going to get careless and lose interest. And so it always holds that we have to leave that which has gone before for the purpose of moving on. And that’s exactly what it’s talking about. Now, let’s look at the verse again.

Hebrews 6:1a
"Therefore leaving…" In other words, don’t forsake it. You don’t turn your back on it saying, "I don’t want anything more to do with that." You move from that one place into a progressive unfolding of that which lies ahead. But what is the Apostle admonishing these people to leave?

Hebrews 6:1a
"…the principles of the doctrine of Christ…."
All the Greek that I can find and the various dictionaries and commentators, all use the same thing. And if you have a good marginal help in your Bible, it would be in your margin. This word principles is better translated "the words of the beginning of Christ."

Think about that for a minute.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXII

Hebrews 5:13
"For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe."
They’re babes!" And even in believers, they may have been saved for years and years but they’ve never gotten beyond the baby stage spiritually or even entered into the spiritual stage, So Paul is admonishing them to get off the baby bottle!
Now verse 14.


Hebrews 5:14
"But strong meat (true spiritual adult food) belongs to them who are of full age, (that is spiritually mature, those seeking for the Truth and righteousness of God) even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
This means we should be knowing spiritual Truth from error. After the rudiments of redemption we’re still babes in Christ. As we begin to study the Word, and we begin to understand some of the basics. I think one of the first things we have to realize in the Age of Grace is that the moment we’re saved the Holy Spirit comes in, and indwells us. He then becomes our teacher, trainer, guide and tutor BUT we have to allow Him to teach us. The Holy Spirit is the One Who opens up our understanding of the Scriptures. I'll prove it. Go to 1 Corinthians 2 verse 10. This is where we start as a new believer with an understanding that we’re not just left out there to our own devices but we have the indwelling Holy Spirit Who is ready to reveal these things IF we will ask Him to. Now I think we have to simply pray and ask God, "Give me understanding. Teach me, reveal the Truth. Give me wisdom." And the Lord will do it.

I Corinthians 2:10
"But God hath revealed them (that is, the things that are only for believers to understand) unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit (God's Spirit) searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
Alright then come all the way down to verse 13,

I Corinthians 2:13
"Which things also we speak, (Paul says) not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, (You don’t go by what men say. You can NOT get it from a school of higher learning of mans wisdom such as a Bible College or some other institution.) but which the Holy Spirit teacheth, (And here’s how you study under God's direction to learn of Him.) comparing spiritual with spiritual."

This is why I use as many Scriptures as possible because we have to understand that the Word of God dovetails. Everything fits and we compare Scripture with Scripture because Scripture interprets Scripture. IF we are rightly dividing as Paul told Timothy to do. And then verse 14.

I Corinthians 2:14
"But the natural (the unregenerate, the unsaved, unbelieving and yes those who are babes) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: (why?) for they are foolishness unto him:"
And why are they foolishness? Because he has no hunger, he has no desire to learn. Most don't have a teachable or even a believing spirit as they've not been awakened to the Truth of God. And so we have to understand that it is our spiritual life that has the need to feed on the Word of God in order to grow and mature. Thus moving into the four dimensions of God as seen in Ephesians chapter 3.


Hebrews 6:1a
"Therefore…"
You know, I can almost stop and teach thirty-minutes on just the word ‘therefore,’ because you see, he’s reminding us of what he had just covered in those previous verses in the last part of chapter 5. You remember, we were talking about Paul lamenting the fact that these people were not skilled in the Word of God. They were not able to go out and teach others. But rather they were like babes on the milk-bottle, and they still had to be fed.

What a dilemma. The average believer has not made enough effort to search the Scriptures to get skilled with them, to be comfortable in sharing it with someone else. Now we hope that this is what we’re accomplishing in our kind of teaching. That we are getting people to have enough understanding of the Scripture to be able to sit down with someone who is totally ignorant and just show them.

So this is what Paul was lamenting in those previous verses, that you’ve got to get off the milk-bottle. You’ve got to get into the strong meat, and be able to teach others also. "Therefore" since that’s what he has covered, look what the verse says:

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXXI

Continuing with:

I Peter 2:2a
"As new born babes, (see the illustration? Just like a newly born infant, a human infant.) desire the sincere milk of the word,…"

We as believers, start out as newborn babes desiring the sincere milk of the Word. The principles, as Paul said in Hebrews, of the Word of God, the very foundations, the basics. And what’s the purpose to be? That we grow. Now babies don’t stay on milk. There comes a point in time when they can handle more solid food, because it’s a growth process. Well, the Bible is the same way. You start out with the basics and you grow in your desire and your knowledge. It's when this hasn't happened that we're to sit back and ask, why not? What's wrong or missing and what's needed? Alright verse 3.

Peter 2:3
"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." What is the Lord? Gracious!

When you begin to taste of the goodness of God, it just whets your appetite. Now we’ve got to come back to Hebrews, so back to chapter 5. Remember, the whole connotation is again, that instead of being ready to teach the Word to others, most believers are still on the milk bottle, and not ready for strong meat. As soon as you start talking some of the deep things of Scripture what do they do? They say, "I can’t understand that anyway, it’s over my head." Well, whose fault is that? It’s their own. They're not listening to God our the God head in us.

The reason these deep things go over their heads is that they haven’t taken the time to study the simpler things and to progress. Just like in our secular education, it’s a direct parallel. Would you take a kid and put him in a calculus or a physics class as a teacher if he never mastered fourth and fifth grade arithmetic? Of course not! That would be impossible. And as our whole secular education is a progressive thing to bringing or training up our young people to the place where they can comprehend the deeper concepts of whatever discipline. This is where we need the Holy Spirit because it is He that is given as our Trainer, Teacher, Guide and Tutor while we're in the elementary phase of our spiritual life. We have this benefit which Israel did not while she was under the tutor of the Law. Remember that All the Law does is convict us of sin and now He reveals Christ to us throughout the Old Testament up through and including Acts chapter 11. Because of how the Holy Spirit does His work in us.

As a child in school grows and moves on from the elementary stages of education so must the spiritual child of God move forward to the deeper things of Christ and God.
Now then, let’s move on to verse 13 of Hebrews chapter 5.


Hebrews 5:13a
"For every one that useth milk…"

They most likely, are still on Christ’s earthly ministry. At least let’s hope maybe they’ve gotten that far. They understand that Jesus of Nazareth had a ministry, and His miracles and so forth, but that’s as far as they can go. All they know is just simply His earthly ministry, and consequently, they are not knowledgeable in the Word of righteousness. In other words, they have not made or entered that grade in school yet. They're still in need of being taught that level of education. But the teachers can't teach them because they don't know it either. They believe that all they have is all they need or that it's all there is and they'll fight to the death defending that, not realizing their lack of spiritual knowledge. They thereby remain practical or earthy in their thinking not having the mind of Christ. They have not learned dependency on the Holy Spirit to bring them into the deeper things of God. For only the Spirit can speak to spirit, but these depend on the words of men instead. So therefore it's not a spiritual training but on mind or head knowledge. And this does nothing for their walk of Faith.

Most of the deeper concepts come from the pen of the Apostle Paul, and I imagine that the vast majority of church members know nothing of those concepts. For example, the first one that comes to my mind is that the old Adamic nature is bent to sin. "We’re not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we’re sinners." Most people don’t even know what I’m talking about, and Paul enlightens us on that subject.

You see, the old Adam-Satan-child nature that we’re born with, is hell-bent. And the only way you can overcome that is by the regeneration brought about by the power of God. And once we’re regenerated, then we should seek to understand these spiritual concepts, but too many people/teachers/preachers are afraid of them and refuse to learn them.

Most people think that once we're born again or regenerated that we should automatically understand spiritual concepts. We're just not equipped to discern between the Old and New and therefore we combine them, and that is wrong. This is why Paul emphasized to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:15) to rightly divide the word of Truth. And we'll read in Hebrews about the two edged sword used to cut into or divided both bone and marrow. Jesus also used the old cloth and new cloth and the old wine skin and new wine to reveal the same concept.

Most Church members can only rehearse Christ’s earthly ministry. I mean, they’ve heard that in Sunday School for years and they know that pretty much, but beyond that, they just don’t know. When it comes to end-time events as we see them rolling up around us, most people don’t have a clue as to what all this is about. They’ve never gotten off the milk bottle. They’ve never gotten any further than the Old Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then Paul goes on to say here in Hebrews:

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXX

Alright now, Paul, the tremendous Apostle that he was, had problems teaching people, too. Go back with me to I Corinthians chapter 3. The Corinthian Church was the congregation with the most problems. They were the most none-spiritual, because they were believers that were so fleshly minded. They had not, as Hebrews says, gone on into the deeper things. The meeter things of Christ and of God. They too, were guilty of not even understanding the principles of the Word of God. So, if Paul had that problem, don’t feel bad if we do too. It’s not easy to overcome some of these obstacles but we just keep repeating and repeating and repeating and finally it starts soaking in.


I Corinthians 3:1
"And I brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, (or fleshly, earthly not even practical) even as unto (what?) babes (or babies) in Christ."
Now they were professed believers and they had been believers for quite some time but they were still in their infancy, they were still in the corral of learning under the Holy Spirit's training, so far as spiritual things were concerned. What were their problems? They were too hung up on tongues, prophecies, healings, the Law, going to law of pagan courts against each other. They were too busy arguing between themselves who was the greatest, Jesus or Peter or Apollos or Paul. See? And what was that? Carnality. That’s carnal thinking and so he says, "even after all these years I have to treat you as babes in Christ." Now verse 2:

I Corinthians 3:2a
"I have fed you with milk,…" He understood when they were new believers fresh out of paganism that they needed the milk of the Word and so that’s what he gave them. And so he says:

I Corinthians 3:2
"I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: (or the deeper things) for hitherto you were not able to bear it, (that was understandable. But, what does the rest of the verse say?) neither yet now are ye able."
He says "and you still can’t!" Isn’t that something? He says, "I understood that at the beginning when you were new believers that you had to be treated like babes in Christ, but, you haven’t grown a bit and I’m still having to treat you like babes in Christ." Alright, now verse 3, what was their problem?

I Corinthians 3:3a
"For ye are yet carnal:…"
You are more hung up on the external and material things than you are on spiritual. Does that ring a bell? This is where the churches are hung up even today....They follow all kinds of fails doctrines of men and thereby make light of God's Gospel and the cross and Blood of Christ. Here it comes now; We’ve already repeated it.

I Corinthians 3:3b
"…for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?"
In other words, you walk like the unsaved world, and we’ve already referred to this. Some in the Corinthians Church would argue who they would follow. Some would say, "Well, we follow Apollos, or we think Paul’s the greatest." Others thought it was Peter, and then we had all their other problems. In fact we remind people constantly, that this Corinthian letter was written to confront problems.

The Book of I Corinthians does not admonish spirituality and position like Ephesians and Philippians do. So Paul had to deal with problems in that Church because they weren’t growing. Oh, they were saved - he refers to that. They were believers but they were more concerned with fleshly and material things than they were the spiritual. And that's where our churches are still, there's more unbelievers in them than there are believers. For they don't know what it is that they're to believe even for their salvation. Many think that they're one and the samething but they are not they are two separate events. The first is designed to bring us through trials and tribulations for the perfecting of our trusting into faith and obedience. While under the leadership of the Holy Spirit who reveals to us Truth and Grace. But, Paul was absolutely right in starting them out on the milk of the Word and we're going to take you all the way back to Peter’s little Epistle and see what he says about this.

As you are turning to 1Peter chapter 2 verse 2.

I Peter 2:2a
"As new born babes, (see the illustration? Just like a newly born infant, a human infant.) desire the sincere milk of the word,…"
Now goodness sakes, we imagine every last one of you have been around newborn babes. Usually when they cry, what do they want? They want milk. They’re hungry! And that little body is just crying out for nourishment or changing. Well that’s the way a believer should be - so hungry.

And that’s what thrills us when people are hungry for the Word. They’ve been in these dead churches for so long and when all of sudden they taste of the Word of God they can’t get enough of it, HIM. The people just blew us away with their knowledge and they had never had any of this before in their life. Boy, we mean they just laid it out, one item after another. And we said, "You’ve learned all this just in the last few months?" They said, "They’d never heard it before!" So it’s possible to learn a lot in a short time if you’re hungry.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXIX

Hebrews 5:12
“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”

Picking back up where we left off, yesterday with our thought on Hebrews 5:12.

See this is the whole idea. If we learn these things then it is so easy to share it with others. We don’t have to get out on the street corner and preach at people or collar them. But when they ask a question, we have both barrels cocked and fully loaded. Now, I’m going back to the old single-barreled 16-gauge shotgun that I grew up with. And when we were pheasant hunting, I know it was probably not the safest thing to do, but when we knew that there were birds not too far away, we walked with the barrel cocked and ready. Well, you see, this is what people should do, when someone asks you a question and it opens up, be ready! Be ready! Don’t hem and haw and say "Well I’m afraid to say something for fear I’m wrong." Allow the Spirit of Christ to give you the words to say because as He promised Moses that He'd not only give him the words but that He'd also put them in Aaron's month as well (Exodus 4:11-16).

Hey, if we’ve studied, and if you’ve done your homework, the Lord will give you what it takes to share. And it will be the most exciting thing you’ve ever experienced. Well, that’s what Paul is dealing with. But these people weren’t ready. And he said, "You need to be taught again the principles."

Now what are principles? The foundation. See? We’ve got kids now parents themselves, and grandkids, unbelievable; they’re all in school. Well, I wish I had the time and the where-with-all to just sit down and teach all of them. But you see, there’s no use trying to teach them say algebra unless they’ve got what? Plain old basic math. There’s no use trying to learn algebra unless you know the principles of mathematics. This is the plan God used for our training and teaching ages ago and He hasn't changed it one bite. So why is it so many want to skip right to the meet of the scriptures without the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ it just doesn't work that way. We are to pass through each level just as we did when in school without failure or without short cuts.

This is the same way with Scripture. People have to know the basics. That’s why when people need a home Bible study and they ask what we recommend, we tell them to start in Romans and slowly work through to Philemon and then repeat them again. We've got to get people into an understanding of Who God is, and how it all came about. Then they need to start with Genesis and how did it all start? What happened? How did sin enter? How did the need of redemption and salvation come about? And so we start with the principles of Paul which Paul says, "you people haven’t even got that. You cannot pass on the principles of the Word of God." Now, look what he says next.


Hebrews 5:12b
"…and are become such as have need of (what?) milk,…"
Goodness sakes, who starts out on milk? Babies! We all know that babies start on milk, because they can’t handle beefsteak. They can’t handle the stronger foods, so they must start on milk. The basics of our faith. Well, it’s the same parallel spiritually. You don’t take a new believer and take him into prophecy, or the Levitical Law because he’s not ready for that. But you take a new believer and build him on the oracles, the basics of the Word of God, and that’s why we like to teach the way we do starting in Romans and just come on up through the Scriptures. And have people mature progressively in a knowledge of the Scriptures. Then we'll take them into Genesis and work them through Acts. Some will surprise you and begin to ask spiritual questions as they're a little deeper than the average they're hungry and thirsting for the meatier matters of scripture.

Now this remind us of a scripture found in Matthew chapter 9 and verse:


Matthew 9:16-17
Jesus is here speaking “No man putteth a piece of new cloth (the new covenant) unto an old garment (the old covenant), for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse (there is no mixing of fabrics of cloth). Neither do men put new wine (again new covenant) into old bottles (the old system of Law as it related to a corral or tutor): else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”
Now this fits with what we saw above as both are speaking of the old and its replacement by the New. (Psalm 119:83; 1Corinthians 3:1-2, 13:13) This is an example of the meat of the word verses the milk that seeks to stay within the confines of the old corral and under the bondage of legalism. Why? Because of a rebellious heart that seeks its own.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXVIII

Hebrews chapter 5 verse 10. We’re still dealing with Christ the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek and how Christ suffered and died and rose from the dead and then as we saw back in chapter 1 verse 3:


Hebrews 1:3b
"…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
Which indicated when He sat down that the work was finished. And never forget that, its a done deal from there on out. That twice in God’s dealings throughout the human history, He finished a work that was so perfect that He could sit down. The first one of course, was the work of Creation. Then the last verse of chapter 1 said, "and He saw that it was (what?) very good." It was perfect and then you get into chapter 2, it doesn’t say He sat down but it says "He rested". And I make the point that if you’re tired and you’ve had a long day what do you do to rest? Well, you sit down, and take a load off, as we say. And so God rested.


The work of the Lord's Last Passover through the garden, trial and then the Cross and up to an including His ascension is the same way. It was so perfect, there was not a flaw in that work. There was nothing that needed yet to be done. And so when He had purged our sins, He redeemed us from them, and opened the way to our Salvation He sat down. It was finished. And you know, ever since, what has mankind been trying to do? Add to it! One thing or another, adding to it. And, we think God is almost beside Himself that mankind cannot accept the fact that it was a finished work. But for this one thing, we need to learn Christ by taking of His yoke for His burden is light. Why? Because He blazed and forged the way ahead of us and the Apostle Paul is our example, as he followed Christ our chief leader. Now let’s begin with verse 10.


Hebrews 5:10
"Called of God an high priest (not after the order of Aaron's priesthood as it only could deal with the external or material world around them but) after the order of Melchizedek."
Who, remember, was the high priest of the Most High God, which was the definition of God concerning the non-Jewish world. Now we’ll move down into verse 11 and we’re going to again depart from the priesthood of Melchizedek for a little bit. We’re going to come down into the life of the ordinary believer. The ordinary Hebrew in this case, but we’re no different.


Hebrews 5:11
"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing."
What is Paul referring to? It was hard for him to talk to them about the priesthood of Christ and after His finished work. Why? Because they were so thick-headed. They just couldn’t get it through their heads. And so he says, "You are dull of hearing." Now verse 12, why were they dull of hearing? Well it was a malaise, we think - it was just of no real interest. In fact, we can safely say, this to anyone of you, we don’t care what church you go to, it’s no different denomination by denomination. Large churches or small. How many of your fellow-church people have a true hunger and thirst for God or the Word of God? How many of them can honestly say, I just can’t wait until I can get into another Bible study. This requires a New Spirit be in them as Jeremiah said in chapter 31:32-36 and Ezekiel says a new spirit in chapters 11:19, 18:31 and 36:26.

Receiving a New spirit is exciting, because once people get an appetite once a week isn’t enough. But you see this is the whole idea that Paul is expressing here. Most professing believers have no hunger or thirst for the Word of God or God. They’re dull of hearing. As long as they fulfill their obligation and they’re there for an hour or two a week, they think that’s all that’s necessary. I remember as a kid our neighbors would make it a point to attend their denominational church on Christmas and Easter as for the rest of the year all most never. And this is what Paul is dealing with when he says in verse 12:


Hebrews 5:12
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, (what does that mean? You should be sharing it with people but instead, Paul says,) you have need that one teach you again which are the first principles of the oracles of God."
So right there between the lines what is the process that God hopes to see happen? That after you’ve been taught, you share it with others. Now that doesn’t mean you have to collar them and preach at them or anything like that, but be ready to open the Scriptures. Be ready any place and at any time and take no thought of what to say as the Holy Spirit will cause His word to flow from you like rivers of flowing living waters. In this way the Spirit gives or imparts His Life to those who receive of Him.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXVII

Hebrews 5:8a
"Though he were a Son,…"
Again, we have to remember how we've stressed that term Son in the first two chapters of Hebrews. He was not just a carpenter’s son, He was not just Mary’s son, He was the very Person of the Godhead that created everything, but He said that He was the son of man (as such He was a God-child in our humanity). And the term used by Ezekiel more than any other prophet. He was the One to Whom the rest of the Godhead imparted all the responsibility of creation and of this work of the Redemption through the Last Supper and then on the Cross and now our Salvation. Where we released into His hands our souls/spirit as well. For its not of our works that any man should boast but it is of His doing in us. And so:


Hebrews 5:8
"Though he were the Son, (He was all powerful,) yet he learned (what?) obedience (to respond to the responsibility that had been given to Him by the Godhead as a whole) yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered;" Throughout His earthly ministry to Israel and their resistance of unbelief to what He was saying, and doing. Then in that agony leading up to and going through that death on the cross. Now He did it in this fashion as our example as we're to learn of Him in the same fashion (Matthew 11:25-30) as He has already passed through it for us, we can gain the victory over all things through Him. We except it all by trusting in His Faithfulness and obedience. Now verse 9,

Hebrews 5:9
"And being made perfect, (complete, is a better word. A complete Redeemer, Savior, a complete Reconciler, and One Who forgives and saves us to the uttermost) he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Christ)."

Back up a page or two - we covered almost the same identical word "author" in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10. We like to use all these Scriptures because they all compliment each other.

Hebrews 2:10
"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain (first in line, and next the same word) of their salvation perfect (or complete (Peter and Isaiah uses a different word found in 1 Peter 2:24 “healed”), but what did it take?) through suffering."

Christ had to suffer in order to become then the Captain of our salvation, or as it says here, now come back to chapter 5 verse 9, the "author of our salvation." Without the suffering it could have never happened. And again His suffering started shortly after He fulfilled all righteousness. How? By the required water baptism with John. In compliance to the Levitical Law. So it is also of us before we can leave our first stated after redemption has done its perfect work in us, in preparation for His salvation. Now verse 9 again.

Hebrews 5:9
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Well what’s another word for obey? Believing. In fact, we just ran across a verse in Acts and we didn’t remember ever stressing it in any teaching. It just sort of hit us like a thunderbolt as we were reading in prayer. Come back with us to Acts chapter 13. My, this is a verse we’ve missed all these years.


Acts 13:35-39a
"Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God fell on sleep, (he died) and was laid unto (with) his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, my and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (and here it comes in the next verse) And by him all that believe are justified…"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXVI

I Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (or creation. Go right back to what I said three, four minutes ago) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
Our old desires, our old appetites, they have to go, for He said this. "Behold, all things are become New." Now that’s what happens when we receive what we've believed or confessed. Alright, so this pastor asked his huge congregation including everyone in the balcony, "If you are a Christian this morning please stand." How many stood? Everybody. Not a one stayed seated, they all stood.

Then he says, "Alright, please be seated." He read the verse again, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a New Creation" and so forth. Now he said, "If you know that you are in Christ and you are a New Creation, please stand." How many stood? Just one here and there, just precious few. Well, what does that tell you? That’s typical, that’s why we’ve said that others have said it, and some famous pastor has said almost the same thing. "Our churches are full of unsaved church members. They’re not in Christ. They haven’t experienced a New Life. They’ve still got the old appetites. There’s nothing different."

That won’t fit do ya see? Alright, so now then reading on, this isn’t where we intended to come, we just happened to see the verse as we were turning to it. Reading on, he says in verse 18:


II Corinthians 5:18
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" In other words, all the things that have set us apart from God have now been bringing us back to Him, through Jesus Christ. Now what does that mean? Now verse 19:

II Corinthians 5:19
"To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; (in other words, because when we become a receiver then to a believer our sin debt is paid) and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
We’re to tell a lost and unbelieving world, we’re to tell lost friends, lost co-workers, even the unbelieving, "Hey, Christ has already reconciled you if you’ll just receive what we believe." Now verse 20, it has to be our confession because Revelation says that we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our confession (Revelation 12:11) why? Because they loved not their life unto death. In other words they had died with Him on the tree being made there one with Him. No, before at the Lord's Passover table. During His inauguration of the promised New Covenant. This is their confession and ours.

II Corinthians 5:20
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God." By receiving it and believing it! Now here’s a verse we came back to read. Verse 21:

II Corinthians 5:21a
"For he (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us,…"
Now don’t read that too casually. What does that really mean? God laid all the sin of the world, including mine, including yours, on Him. God laid all the sins of the world on Christ as He hung on that Cross, see? That’s what in Philippians we find "That He died even the death of the Cross" knowing that the sins of the world would be laid on Him. Alright reading on in this verse: He Who became sin for us, He Who knew no sin. He was perfect. He was sinless because He was law abiding even down to the commandments and ordinances. And He went through the whole process for us.

II Corinthians, 5:21b
"… that we (as lost hell-bound sinners) might be made the righteousness of God in him."
And this is what we have to receive by trust which is to then believe. We take it by His faith. And when we receive and believe for our redemption onto our salvation that He died, was buried and rose from the dead, then God imparts His righteousness into us and we’re a new creation and we’re a new person. Now we've left clues throughout this blog that reveal that there is more depth here than is shown. To get a preview look at 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 23 though 32 and then the four gospels on this subject and ask the Lord to reveal the depth there hidden. Now back to Hebrews again, and verse 8 still in chapter 5.