The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXXII

Jeremiah 31:34a
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour,…"
Do you remember back when Moses gave the Law, what was the instruction to every Hebrew? Teach it, and teach it. Memorize it, memorize it. When you get up in the morning, think on the Law. When you go to bed at night, you think on the Law. And it was just constantly programmed into their thinking. But you see, when this becomes a reality, which will be, of course, when Christ returns and sets up that glorious Kingdom, then the Hebrew won’t have to constantly be reminded because it will just be implanted in their very being. Now I know this is the way that most materialistically minded people see this but I'm NOT of that mind set any longer. All has been changed by God and the book of Acts records its happening. In fact you can see it when you listen to Peter, James, John and Jude when compared to Paul. Looking at this verse again.

Jeremiah 31:34
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." What a promise! And this is just what happens for those who have chosen His Way. Remember the: "many are called but few have chosen" Now verse 35.

Jeremiah 31:35
"Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:"
In other words, the God of Creation. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the "Most High God" of Melchizedek, He’s speaking. And now look at the promise in light especially of the Middle East scenario today (in 2012). Many people think that Israel should be driven into the sea. But what does the Scriptures say?

Jeremiah 31:36
"If those ordinances (the sun, moon, and stars) depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever."
Oh man has tried to change these ordinances by changing our calendar from a Hebrew based system to a pagan based system of Julian origin. Wherein the names of the months and days are those of pagan deities or gods. Even the numbering of the years was changed not only to pagan but also the Hebrews changed theirs to hid Isaiah 53 and their having to deal with the Christ or Messiah therein revealed. They removed approximately 135 years by so doing. In their program we should be in the year 5912 or there abouts. In the Julian we have to allow for a 3-5 year variance because of the date of the birth of Christ is not set in concrete. Just as the day of birth is not correctly set because according to the language in the gospel accounts the shepherds were still in the fields tending their sheep which would mean Spring time or Autumn, not winter and under the pagan winter solstice of methodology. Alright now then, if the sun and moon would suddenly quit shining. If the stars would suddenly fall out of their position, then it’s possible Israel would cease to be a nation, but not until. Do you remember when Abraham was told to count the stars? What do they symbolize? The spiritual nation of Israel, the celestial, is not the sand of the sea which numbers the earthy nation of the Hebrews and mankind together as one in flesh. And to say that the nation of Israel is made up of the spiritual or celestial body is nothing short of tripe as it remains terrestrial.

Jeremiah 31:37a
"Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured,…"
And what did we just hear again in the news this last week? They found another galaxy of some billion-trillion years out into space. Well that’s just a guess, but what does that tell you? How vast the universe is. Human science can’t measure it. But God says:

Jeremiah 31:37b
"…and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD."
So if all that could happen then Israel might cease to be a nation, so it’ll never happen. Now I know most of us who are Biblically oriented are real concerned about the situation in the Middle East. It almost looks as though the life of the Nation of Israel is slowly but surely being snuffed out, the Jewish people actually think that. They think they’re about to lose their country. No, they are not. Now they’re going to be squeezed. They’re going to go through some terrible and horrific times and the Old Testament prophecies that it’s going to come to the place where they will stand totally isolated. All alone with no one to help them, but they’re not going to disappear. And so we can take comfort in that, that the Word of God is steadfast and sure. And they are there.

I trust they are there as a part of the end-time scenario now and it just tells us that the Lord’s coming is getting nearer. As is the end of the time of the Gentiles and their tromping under foot of this nation. I didn’t set it in concrete, but I shouldn’t have even said that much because we can’t even speculate. The end is nearer than it was yesterday and it’s certainly a lot nearer than it was when Israel first declared themselves an independent state in 1948. But we can see that - all the ramifications of the world, the turmoil, the perplexity, the wars.

But just think about it, fifty wars are raging. Forty-eight of them involve the Islam or the Muslim people. And so we find ourselves in a world that’s in turmoil. And it’s not just politics, it’s not just economics, it’s religious. If you’ll go back into history, you’ll find that most of the turmoil all the way back was usually, not always, but usually based on religious differences. But the Nation of Israel, the Hebrews in spite of all the pressure; in spite of all the gloom will never again cease to be a nation. So lets look at verse 37 again.

Jeremiah 31:37
"Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also search out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD."
But it’s not going to happen because the New Covenant which is a covenant set from the eternal Sovereign God and He will never go back on His Word. Alright, back to Hebrews chapter 8 verse 11.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXXI

Hebrews 8:9
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."
To get a hold on this we need to look at Exodus 32:8; Deuteronomy 29:25, 31:16-18 and those that these verses may have reference to in your study Bible provided you have a good one.

Well, we went through that explicitly back in chapter 3 especially, when we rehearsed their unbelief at Kadesh-barnea. And what did the Lord say? "They entered not because of unbelief." And the warning is even for us then, don’t harden your hearts as they did - keep trusting and keep believing. Now verse 10 for something totally fresh.

Hebrews 8:10
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, (after all the years - 1500 at the time Paul writes this. So that after all those years) saith the Lord; I will (future tense) put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will (future) be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
Now they haven’t been that since way back in Old Testament history before the Shekinah Glory left the Temple. Remember when God was speaking to Daniel and said, "Thy people." Why? Because they were no longer God’s people, they had turned away in unbelief and in lawlessness. But the day is coming when once again they will be the people of God, and we’re getting closer and closer to that day. At the end of the time of the Gentiles or until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Now before we go back to Jeremiah 31, and see this New Covenant in its original setting. Let's suggest that we're fast approaching the year 6000 because we're in 5912 or there abouts. And we get that from what the Hebrews use and that is 5777, to this we have to add what they've hidden because of their refusing of the Messiah and that is all of chapter 53 of Isaiah or approximately 135 years. And then you’ll readily see that this has direct or indirect, yes - direct bearing on the Gentile Church. This is a covenant that God has made with Israel to be fulfilled more fully of course, when Christ returns. The difference is that its by way of personal revelation and that only through inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the heirs of Salvation through Grace. As it is they who have the Law of God impressed within them or upon their hearts and minds. This is what is to happen while we're under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit while in our first estate of redemption through which we all are to pass because its within it that we learn both God and Christ and acquire His Love or the Love of Him.

Jeremiah 31:31
"Behold the days come, (a promise for the future) saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:" See how perfectly the Apostle Paul quoted this?

Jeremiah 31:32
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant, they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD."

When God gave the Law to the Hebrews (and those trusting, the Israel of God), and as we’re going to see when we get into chapter 9, He gave them the Tabernacle and the whole sacrificial system of worship. He gave them the priesthood; my they had everything going for them. God was present, remember, in that pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day.

For forty years after they had rejected Canaan, He fed them in the wilderness. He provided the water, provided everything they needed. And yet, what did the Nation of Israel do with it? Rejected it. They spurned Him for the most part, see? And so, because of their unbelief, this covenant of Law became nothing but a broken covenant waiting for the last days (the days of Jesus' ministry and His proclaiming of the kingdom message), when this new one will take center stage. Now it tells us that Abraham saw the day of Christ's being but only as a shadow or as a light at the end of a tunnel as it was a far off. Which is what the term "the last days" means. Alright, now verse 33.

Jeremiah 31:33a
"But (See there’s that flip-side again. Oh they just scorned the first covenant. But) this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD,…"
In other words, "after those days" of unbelief and of breaking the original covenant, the Mosaic Law, "After those days, saith the LORD": the what? Last days, when all of this would become moot and of no good.

Jeremiah 31:33b
"…I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; (not on tables of stone but He’s going to literally implant it in the heart of every Israelite, and then what will happen?) and (I) will be their God and they shall be my people."
Now, has this taken place within you or are you so blind as NOT to understand what has taken place within you? The moment that you receive the Holy Spirit He became to you the New Law and the New Covenant in the power of an Endless Life. At the moment we've passed through the cross and it has had its intended effect on us. For this is how we enter into this great Salvation. I’m going to just read on because there’s some good stuff in here.

Jeremiah 31:34
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXX

Jeremiah 31:34
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
When will that happen? When Christ sets up His 1000 year earthy kingdom, and those who with Paul receive the revelation upon which Christ builds His Church. There is no direct Church language in this Epistle to the Hebrews. You'll find almost nothing that pertains directly to the body of Christ. In other words, you don’t see the term "The body of Christ." There is not that emphasis on Salvation through faith alone in the death, burial and resurrection. And there is certainly no reference to pastors, bishops, deacons and elders in Hebrews because again, it’s not directed to the Gentile Church. This letter does not address the body of Christ as such, but all the things I trust we’ve been learning now over these last seven or eight chapters are fundamental truths on which the body of Christ rests. Even Romans chapter 3 when Paul says:

Romans 3:21
"But now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets:"
So everything is a progressive revelation and Hebrews is one of those sections of Scripture that, even though it’s not directly addressed to the Gentile or the body of Christ, it shows us the fundamental truths that were so necessary for our Gospel to come about. We also find that in all of Hebrews there is this constant comparison of that which was good (was in the past, but failed because of mans ignorance, by way a external dependency of self-will or the flesh), to that which is better (is now). In fact, back up to verse 6 - what’s the first two words?

Hebrews 8:6a
"But now…"
In other words, that which was past is past but now, see?

Hebrews 8:6b
"…hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, (see, that constant comparison and ) by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, (Better than that which was before, the old covenant) which was established upon better promises."
I really love this! Yes, the Law was good. Judaism was good as far as it went, but now, that has faded off and is folded up like an old garment and now we’ve got things that are far Better. Now verse 7.

Hebrews 8:7
"For if (conditional) that first covenant (the Covenant containing the Law) had been faultless, (if it had been perfect) then (there) should be no place have been sought for a second."
And its just this one fact that many don't get their heads around or through their thick skulls. That stands to reason doesn’t it? Again, "If it ain’t broke - don’t fix it." It’s only when something is amiss that we dive into it and make corrections. So Paul says: "if the first had been perfect, there’d be no need to correct it." But it wasn’t, it wasn't perfect it was flawed because of man and even our Gospel is flawed for the same reason. Carnal men have done their utter most to try to make it something it is NOT. It was fleshly and weak, it only dealt with the external or material things and depended on mans sufficiency. The Better depends on God's sufficiency and His working within us when we become receptive as a little child and simply believe Him, and trust Him to do all that He has promised. And when we do He counts it as faith and we become as Abraham was righteous.

Hebrews 8:8
"For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will (future) make a new (better) covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:"
That’s not addressed to the Church, but it is in the spiritual sense. The New Covenant, even in Jeremiah (we’re going to look at it after a bit), was never addressed to the Gentile Church; it was addressed to Israel and we’ll look at that. Oh if only people could separate the Hebrews form Israel and the Church, how the Scriptures would just open up to them. Israel is not as supposed in the natural or carnal sense, it with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have to do with those who would be the “willing” as a little child, to come out from among them and then to walk by simple trust. We'll see the acts of trust listed alter here in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 8:9
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."
To get a hold on this we need to look at Exodus 32:8; Deuteronomy 29:25, 31:16-18 and those that these verses may have reference to in your study Bible provided you have a good one.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXIX

Galatians 4:1-3
"Now I say, That the heir, (one with the God-child restored) as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so (he’s just using this as an example, for Jesus came as a servant) we, when we were children (with the Satan-child nature), we were in (what?) bondage under the elements of the world:"
What are elements? First elements are those substances from which all things become such as, air, earth, water, and fire. Then there's another form basic for all and that is the Law, the law of life, nature, and creation. And so you see, this constant reference through Scripture is that to live under a legalistic system is not freedom, it’s not liberty; but rather it’s bondage. And that’s why Paul comes out then and says, "you’re not under the Levitical Law; you’re under Grace." And oh, what a difference! Elements of the world: “rudiments”; rudimentary religious teaching of a non-Christian character: the elementary lessons of outward things (literally, “of the [outward] world”); such as the legal ordinances mentioned, Galatians 4:10 (Colossians 2:8, 20). Our childhood’s lessons (Hebrews 5:12). Definition taken from Thayer's Dictionary

Let’s come back to Hebrews once again, to verse 8. Since the Law was full of faults. Since it was a system of bondage. Since there was no liberty in it.

Hebrews 8:8a
"For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold the days come…."
Now that was prophecy, that was foretold in the Old Testament that this thing of the Levitical Law was a stopgap only leading up to the coming of Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the world. With His advent all of this was to be stopped or done away with as it served its purposes. The pointing to the promised one of Genesis 3:15 and Deuteronomy 18. And so his promise was:

Hebrews 8:8b
"…Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:"

Now whenever you see God saying "I will" whether it’s back in Abrahamic Covenant or any other time, what is it? It’s a promise of something future that’s coming. And so here He’s promising the Nation of Israel that the day is coming when they will come out from under this covenant of Law. And they will go into a New Covenant that God is going to make with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. When we come through the proper way into a relationship with Him which is His Will and desires for all of us we become one in Christ and the New Covenant applies to all of the "all in all", us as well. Why or How by way of heirship. One of the mysteries revealed to Paul.

Hebrews 8:9a
"Not according to the covenant that He made with the fathers…"
Speaking again of Moses and Aaron and the Tabernacle and so forth in the wilderness. Jeremiah and Ezekiel are only two of the prophets through whom God reveals this coming change. They apply to us through Paul's writings and his exposing of them. Had he not made reference to them under the leading of the Holy Spirit they would have remained only for Israel as a Nation. Now there are many who miss use the things which were, or are only meant for Israel as applying to us which they don't. Why? Because we're not Israel nor are we under their religious form, we're in God's New Covenant or Church Age dispensation wherein Christ's likeness is to be reformed, or restored within us. And then verse 10.

Hebrews 8:10
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord.; I will put my laws in their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
Let’s go all the way back to where we had the promise of that New Covenant. And that’s in Jeremiah chapter 31 and, by the way, we in this Age of Grace are getting the overflow of the promise of this Covenant, but we are not actually under the Covenant. That’s waiting for the Kingdom Age when God will set up His Kingdom here on the earth, and believing Hebrews will become the top-dog of the nations and they will enjoy this Covenant. As will the heirs of Christ who are in Christ before they fall to sleep or are taken out as part of His Body. The heirship to this New Covenant is open to all who will become the willing to prove this I'll show you Matthew record of what the Lord said:
Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are (this word "are" is in italic and a lighter shadow which means it was not in the original text, what fits here is the word "have") chosen." Now lets read it with that understanding, "for many are called, but few have chosen" they have chosen to do the Will of God which is what we're all about revealing and bring to Light.

Jeremiah 31:31
"Behold, the days come, (here’s the prophecy) I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah."
Now this is the covenant in verse 34.

Jeremiah 31:34
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXVIII

Galatians 4:9a
"But now, (again, after they had come out of paganism, out of idol worship, they’d stepped into the Grace of God and Paul’s Gospel) after that ye have known God, (the true God, did Paul teach and use the proper Hebrew name [YHWH] of God as Jesus did during His ministry?) or rather (he says) are known of God,…"

I just pointed out to someone. One of the ramifications of our faith today is that God knows us as if we’re the only person on earth. Do you feel that way? That’s how God feels about you, the believer. It’s just as if you were the only one! And we have this confidence that when we pray, we’re not just coming up with multitudes of millions of prayers. My, I wouldn’t even bother to pray if I thought that’s what it was. But we don’t, we come up as an individual. When Christ died, He would have died that death if YOU would have been the only person living. Now that’s what we call a personal Salvation. To be a Christian is that personal revelation that your one and the same person as Jesus was and is NOW the Christ the declared Son of God, a Christ-Like one or the God-child that Adam was before he fell. Positionally in Him, in Christ totally identified as one being, a New Creation. So now this is what Paul is saying:

Galatians 4:9b
"…how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"

How could you, when you came out of paganism and not only did you know God but God knew you. Now this is language in the style that he used on the Hebrews because they too were in bondage to the weak and beggarly Law. What a difference. What were the weak and beggarly elements? The Law. That’s all it was good for. It was weak and beggarly. It couldn’t give men power to live a good life. All it could do was condemn them, as we saw. Alright, let’s just turn the page while we’re in Galatians and go to chapter 5 verse 1. And Paul is still on the same premise. Don’t go back under the Law. Don’t embrace any kind of legalism and its bondage, don't return to the old paganism of worshiping religious forms which God has NOT set apart for us.

Galatians 5:1
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ (through His finished work, remember) hath made us free, be not entangled again with the (what?) yoke of bondage."

Now we covered that, what does a yoke always make you think of? To me, a yoke of oxen. Why? Because around their neck they had that piece of wood that was their burden, with which they pulled. And that’s the whole concept. The Law was just like a yoke around an oxen’s neck. It burdened them, the older carried the younger as it was trained and in many for the first time the use of the yoke. Remember too that Jesus asks us to take His yoke upon us to learn of Him but His yoke is easy and the burden is light. Why is it light because He asks us to learn of Him, to do as He has done and been doing, though this has nothing to do with the signs, miracles and wonders which were for Israel's teaching and our learning of Him only.(Matthew 11:29-30)

Alright now, even Peter uses the same language, and I think we can go all the way up to Acts 15, when Peter finally, after I think, a long day of confrontation, and disputations, comes to Paul’s defense. Now this is at the Jerusalem counsel when Paul has finally confronted the leaders of Jerusalem not to try and put his Gentile believers under the band of the Law. And so Peter finally gets his own eyes opened and what does he tell us?

Acts 15:9-10a
"He put no difference between us (Hebrews) and them (Gentiles) purifying their (Gentiles) hearts by faith. (now here it comes, from the lips of Peter) Now therefore, why tempt (or test) God, to put a (what?) yoke upon the neck of the disciples,…" (these Gentile believers)

Well, what kind of a yoke is Peter referring to? The oxen. Same thing. Why put your believers under a yoke like oxen pulling a plow, that’s what the Law did with its burdensome ceremonies and its required death penalty. Now the word "disciples" in that verse, I don’t like to use, because too many people will immediately think of the Twelve but in actuality this was used for a student, a pupil. No, we’re talking about Gentile believers. And so he says:

Acts 15:10b
"…which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"
What’s Peter admitting? The Law never helped them. The Law was not a successful thing for the Nation of Israel. Then nor is it now and for us its out of the question because its altogether useless. They were constantly under the yoke of it and it had no power to help them. And so he says, "don’t put a yoke upon the neck of those Gentile believers, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." All the rituals were a toilsome burden which no one could bear. Why? Are so many in our day trying to copy Israel with picking up of their customs and ceremonies baffles me. Its pure ignorance on their parts you ask me.

Now let’s go back to Galatians chapter 4, because there’s another verse back there that I think we should look at. All in this concept that the Law can do nothing except put us in bondage. Let’s just start with verse 1 because I want you to see how that all through, especially since Paul’s revelations have come on the scene, how that we see this constant reference to the Levitical Law as something that was less than perfect.

Galatians 4:1-3
"Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXVII

Hebrews 8:6
"But now he hath obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."

My, aren’t we fortunate? I try to impress on people that you and I, as believers in this Age of Grace, as members of the Body of Christ, have it so far above the promises made to Israel. Now we know God’s going to do wondrous things yet with Israel someday, but the promises that He has given to us as believers, as members of the Body of Christ are beyond mere natural human comprehension. But you and I can begin to get a glimpse of the glory that’s going to be revealed to us an in us because all this is so much Better than what God promised to Israel only, within the confines of the Old. Now verse 7 of Hebrews 8, again before we go there we'll look at a few verses that accompany what we've just seen and they are found in Isaiah 65:15, 66:19-21, Hosea 3:4; Galatians 3:19 and 23, 4:3-5:

Right off the bat I just see something that just thrills me:

Hebrews 8:7a
"For if that first covenant had been faultless,…"
You know what I’m going to ring the bell on? Was it faultless? No, it was full of fault. My, it was weak; it was beggarly. That first Covenant of Law wasn’t faultless, but if it had been; had it been faultless:

Hebrews 8:7b
"then should no place have been sought for the second."
That stands to reason doesn’t it? What’s our expression? "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." If you’ve got something that’s perfect, leave it alone. But nevertheless, see, when something is perfect you don’t have to ask for anything more. But the Law and Temple worship wasn’t perfect. It was full of faults and so consequently there had to be room for a second and better Covenant. That is why the prophets foretold of a change with such words as an everlasting, a new covenant, a law written on the heart or inward parts...etc. Now let’s go into verse 8, then I’m going to stop and digress.

Hebrews 8:8-9
"For finding fault with them, (Who did? God did. God found fault with His own system of Law) he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; (which was the Covenant of Law) because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."
Now just stop and rehearse for a minute. As soon as Israel came through the Red Sea and they congregate down there at the base of Mt. Sinai, God calls Moses up in to the mountain and gives him the Ten Commandments (and I’m going to even skip over the horrors of what took place when he came down and he broke the first set). But later on he gets the second set, set in stone and Israel comes under the Law. It was in stone because of the heart condition of the people because they walked in unbelief all the way through Acts chapter 11. When God changed the course of human events from an external or material workings of self sufficiency to a totally God doing the works within us through His Grace and our entering in through redemption into this great Salvation. Who in his right mind could or would ever reject this program of God's design?

They’ve got that beautiful little tent out in the wilderness, they now have a priesthood, hey, they’re ready to go. They’ve got everything going for them. The Shekonah Glory is right up there above the Tabernacle. Can you imagine it, can you picture it? The presence of God is right there above them, a cloud by day to give them shade in that desert heat. It was a pillar of fire by night to protect them from any predators and to led them should they be on the move. Boy, they had it made.

And so God leads them up to Kadesh-barnea. And what happens. Oh, they floundered and they failed in what? Unbelief! Remember when we were back there in chapter 3 of Hebrews, I made mention of the fact that there’s probably no other concept of Scripture that is repeated so often as how disgusted God was with Israel when they would not go in and take the Promised Land. All because of their unbelief. Lawlessness.

Well, what was part of the problem? The system of Law. It was not perfect. Had they had the indwelling Holy Spirit (He would come upon one or two but NOT the whole nation), had they had that relationship with their God that we have, I don’t think they would have fallen in unbelief. But they didn’t. All they had was the weak system of Law. Which depended upon their doing acts as required of them. Alright, let’s go back and look at a few of them. Now we had one here a few minutes back and we’ll look at it again, too. But as you go back there, stop at Galatians. Now these are the Scriptural concepts of the system of Law, and what Israel was so proud of, but oh, it was weak. Galatians 4:8-9.

Now again, what was the problem with the Galatian believers? Well, they were Gentiles, but they were being coaxed to come under certain aspects of the Jewish Law. The Judaizers from Jerusalem were not content that these Gentiles could be saved by faith alone, but they had to keep the Levitical Law. They had to keep Temple worship, they had to practice circumcision and all the rest. So Paul writes this Epistle of Galatians, just almost beside himself how these Galatians come out of such a glorious position in Grace and even to be tempted to come under the Law; as many among them were fresh out of Judaism and here’s why:

Galatians 4:8
"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, (they were pagans remember) ye did service unto them who by nature are no gods."
What’s he saying? You were worshiping dead idols: of wood and stone and silver and gold. They were dead, they couldn’t do anything for you. And these Galatians had come out of that. Now remember also that the Hebrews had also fallen into such paganism as the scriptures testify against them. Now verse 9.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXVI

Now let’s go back again for just a quick review at a different verse. Let’s go to Exodus chapter 25 and verse 40. We looked at verses 8 and 9, but now we’re going to look at the last verse. This just shows the importance of it. Moses could not take this lightly. He couldn’t just throw up a tent and build and altar and start killing animals. It all had to be according to God’s divine purposes. And those of you who have studied the tabernacle remember that everything, with nothing excepted, was all a picture of this work of the Cross and the spiritual person of Christ.

Exodus 25:40
"Look, (make sure) that thou make them (that is all the things that are going into this tabernacle) after their pattern, (in other words, he couldn’t just make-shift it. It had to be exactly as God had given him the pattern) which was shewed thee in the mount." (when he was up there on Mt. Sinai.)

Alright then, come to the last chapter of Exodus, chapter 40, and we’ll look at verse 33. And again the language is such that it just sends you flying to the finished work of the Cross. Now in all these intervening chapters, they’ve been crafting the materials that went into this tabernacle. The gold, the linen, the animal’s hair, the altar of incense and the brazen altar made of brass, all these things were crafted by craftsmen that God had raised up out of the Israelites. Now Exodus 40:33:

Exodus 40:33-34
"He (Moses) reared up the court round about the tabernacle (in other words, the outer fence that went clear around the perimeter) and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. (in other words that was the last thing that was finished) So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
In other words, God put His stamp of approval upon everything that the Israelites had now made with their craftsmanship and they erected it and set it up. And in verse 35 we find the presence of God was so awesome.

Exodus 40:35
"And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
Well, all of that was set in motion to give us a preview of what Christ would accomplish in His work of the Cross and our coming into His Salvation with our being restored to the place and relationship which Adam had lost. And all this is part and parcel of the New Covenant. Alright, let’s come back to Hebrews once again finishing verse 5.

Hebrews 8:5b
"…for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."
Everything exactly as God had instructed. Now verse 6, here we come again, what’s the word? But, the flipside. Yes, Moses and all the craftsmen of Israel worked almost a year formulating all the things that went into that earthly tabernacle there out at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

Hebrews 8:6a
"But now (on this side) he hath obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a (what?) better…"
You see the constant comparison of that which was good, the Mosaic system, the Mosaic Law. It was good up to a point but it could not be perfect. But now, now on this side we have that which is perfect because Christ Himself established it and finished it. The work of Grace and our Redemption through which we have the power or right to enter Salvation is what? Finished, done....its a done deal. We're to receive it we're to take it all into our hearts as it is written there, then believe it by way of inspiration (divine illumination) or revelation. For upon this the Lord builds His house, the Church. But it does NOT conform to the worlds church or its copy of the Hebrews religious system. Why? Because it was defiled and remains so, that is why the priesthood was killed and the temple destroyed and the people scattered. Back in 70 AD just as the Lord Jesus had said, before we go there lets hear what Stephen's accusers say as recorded in Acts 6:

Acts 6:14
"For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us."

And now here's what Jesus said as recorded by Matthew in chapter 24:

Matthew 24:1-2
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, 'See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'”

Now we'll look at what Luke records for this in chapter 19 and verse 44 and we'll pick up the flow in verse 41:

Luke 19:41-44
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, 'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.'” ( for a more clear picture for our understanding read and study the following passages 1 Kings 9:7-8, Micah 3:12; Matthew 23:37-38, Luke 21:6, Mark 13:2)

Now back to Hebrews 8 and verse 6:

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXV

Alright, now we can come back to Hebrews chapter 8. So He’s a minister of the Sanctuary first and foremost, this Temple, in which He is dwelling in the Person of the Holy Spirit. But so far as the Hebrew was concerned he’s still got the Temple on his mind, hasn’t he? And the Temple of course, was divided with the front part, the sanctuary, which if I remember correctly was 30 feet by about 15. And in the back behind the veil was 15 feet by 15 and that’s what the Hebrew understood. But this man, this high priest (Melchizedek) is a minister of the "true tabernacle," not the Temple there in Jerusalem. He's tabernacle is in Zion and is spiritual Jerusalem not of this earth but rather heavenly which still remains veiled to us. But the temple is the heart of those who have passed through into His Salvation and thereby become sons of God having passed through childhood as an heir.

Now again, as I was looking at all this we’ve got to remember the Temple was still operating in Jerusalem when this is being written. See, too many of us have got the idea that the Temple is long gone and it doesn’t play a role. Yeah, it still was operating when Paul was writing his letters. And of course, it was destroyed within a matter of two or three years after his death. But as Paul writes, the Temple is still going, as I said, full speed ahead. They were sacrificing animals by the thousands.

And so the Hebrew had the Temple on his mind when anything was brought up "religiously" as they would call it. And so here again Paul is addressing that. That this High Priest is not of that Temple operating up there on the Mount but of the "true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man." Remember that Moses was told to build a copy of what he had been shown, it was only a copy not the actual thing.

What’s he talking about? Well, come all the way back to Exodus chapter 25 and again I think this is a concept that very few professing believers, unless they become students, understand. This is the chapter where the Lord is going to give Moses instructions for building that first little tabernacle out in the wilderness, that little tent which, of course, became later the Temple. Alright in Exodus chapter 25 and he gives all the materials that they’re going to need in the first eight verses. Now look at verse 9.

Exodus 25:9
"According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."

What’s a pattern? It’s the original! Manufacturers have what they call ‘prototypes.’ What is it? Well, it’s just a similar version of what they’re going to have at the end. But here’s what God is telling Moses? "You’re going to make a tabernacle patterned after an original not pitched with hands." The Epistle of Hebrews tells us it’s in heaven. And so there is a likeness of the true Temple format ‘in the heavens’ not made by men but created by God Himself. And it was into that Temple that Christ went in as our High Priest. This is the same Temple that we're in the presence of God in, in the spirit, where we reside even while we're in the physical here on earth. And how are there if we're physically here on earth by faith because the word tells us it is so.

Hebrews 8:1-2
"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."
I told you, you could take a two-way approach on verse 2. He could be speaking of the body of us as believers, who are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. And Christ is the very Core and the makeup of that. But it could also be talking to, a reference to, the Old Testament tabernacle or temple, which was set in those two rooms the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holiest. And which was pitched according to the pattern in Heaven. And we’ll look at that again further in this chapter. Now verse 3.

Hebrews 8:3
"For every high priest (it is not of the Aaronic priesthood as it was an external or material priesthood or whereas the New is a High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, spiritual and internal ministration) is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer."
He has to have a reason for fulfilling His Priesthood. Now verse 4.

Hebrews 8:4
"For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:"

He couldn’t do that. See that? He couldn’t operate in His Priesthood if He had to do as Israel’s priests did because it just wouldn’t fit. He could not offer animal sacrifices. He could not fulfill the priesthood in the temple because His work is so totally, totally above and beyond the animal sacrifices of Judaism or of its pattern of feasts and holidays. Now verse 5.

Hebrews 8:5a
"(these priests of Israel, Judaism) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle:…"
The tabernacle at Mt. Sinai, in the wilderness. In other words, God is making sure that Moses builds that tabernacle according to the floor plan of the original, which is in Heaven. This one point seams to be a point of contention because of the partial hardening of heart which God has placed on Israel as a nation. Now finishing verse 5.

Hebrews 8:5b
"for, See, (take note) saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."
As Moses is about to build that tabernacle at Mt. Sinai, in the wilderness, the Lord spoke and said, "See, (take note) that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you on the mount." And this we find in Exodus 25:40 and is repeated in 26:30 as is it with each artifact used within this temple.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXIV

I Corinthians 3:16
"Know you not that ye (now remember, Paul always writes to believers) are the temple (see, the dwelling place) of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you."

See that’s what makes us what we are. However and this may ruffle some feathers but here goes any way. To get to this position we have to have come into the first estate or into the area of God's training and teaching or under the influence of the Holy Spirit's administration as our tutor and not some false religious spirit that has counterfeited His, the Holy Spirits presence. And has hold the church captive for 2000, no make that 4000 years. As it had its hold in Judaism long before Christ came on the scene. Come over to chapter 6 in the same book, and it’s repeated in verse 19. But first lets look at something in 2 Corinthians 6:

2Corinthians 6:11-18
"O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

This is what was told to us, my wife and I back in 1985-6 and we did not understand it but like so many others continued in our sin of disobedience by staying within the church. We did this again after hearing this warning to "come out from among them" in 1987-8 but the last time God get our attention by allowing me to get sick unto death, not once but twice. Now this may upset your theology but back in 1971 the Lord told me that I would have to pass through somethings that many wouldn't understand or accept but that I'd pass through them, is my point. These things He has done and has proved faithful in them all. And so the last time in 2005-7 we came out from among them, the worlds church and have done our utmost to stay obedient to Him. For in so doing we've become the temple of His Spirit and not the false spirit that is in the churches that follow the prince of the power of the air or the spirit of the world. We know this because of Paul's revelation of Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27, 2:11-14 because the Lord gave me a graphic vision of this for my edification and learning in October 2007. And this only after He asked me this question in August, "will you take My yoke upon you and learn of Me?" to which I replied Yes! Lord. Now continuing now with the study and 1 Corinthians 6:19

I Corinthians 6:19-20
"What? (Paul writes) know ye not that your body (this physical body of flesh and bone) is the temple (or the dwelling place) of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. (why?) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
Not to honor God with our body, soul, strength, mind, will, emotions, opinions, thoughts, imaginations, intellect and spirit is to dishonor Him. Which means that if we practice any religious form other than what He has required is to refuse Him His rightful Authority or Power within us and this is the sin which Adam did. And this is what has happened through "Christendom" as we know it. Because religion has many branches which have become rotten because of error or misleading into other portions of God's Divine nature for true religion is first to allow God to do as He has promised. But when we establish and church based on a doctrine of a portion of His attributes and make it the theme of our religion we've made in effect ourselves gods and this we all know He does not nor can He tolerate in any fashion. Why? Because it was the same sin that got Satan and his counterpart into trouble when they wonted or lusted to place themselves above God's throne.

Well, I have never gotten on the soapbox and jumped at people for their bad habits. But, when a believer continues to practice a bad habit, what is going to be the end result physically? He’s going to lose his health. He’s going to lose his health probably faster than the unbeliever because we are defiling something that is no longer ours. It now belongs to God. So you believers out there that think you can practice unholy fellowship with demons and enjoy it, you go ahead. But see, this is exactly what we have to realize - that we are to treat this body special. We’re to take care of it, and nurture it. And Paul says in Ephesians, "we’re to love it because this is what God has given us. It’s His dwelling place." We're not to follow after the worlds religious practices and then say that God the Father will get the glory because we've practiced evil before Him. To do so means that we've taken His name in vain and mock the cross and the blood that was there shed for us. This also means that we loose our new identity and position.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXIII

Hebrews 8:1
"Now (on this side of the Cross) of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: (don’t you like that? I’m going to recap, Paul says. Now this is the sum of the matter. We still use the statement today. This is the sum of the matter) We have (not hope to have, we have) such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"

I have to emphasize to people that Christ is not on a throne tonight. That’s why we don’t address him as King. He’s not a King on the throne. That’s still future, when He returns and sets up His Kingdom then He becomes King supreme. But He’s at the Father’s right hand and hid there with us IN Him in both spirit and in truth. Again, I always like to emphasize, don’t picture Him sitting on a little chair and God the Father’s up here on some big throne. That’s not what we’re to do, but positionally in the Heavenlies, we have God the Son, a Priest after the order of Melchizedek placed at the right hand of the Majesty on High on the same level. Now this is from a practical side but from a spiritual side He is seated at the Father's right hand, the side of power and Authority as He and the Father are one.

Now maybe Daniel chapter 7 will help a little bit in that. Again, this just points out that all Scripture dovetails together. None of it stands off by itself. But in Daniel chapter 7 we have a little different view and yet it’s all the same thing. You see, that’s the beauty of Scripture, we get all these different viewpoints, pointing up to the same thing. Let’s drop in at verse 9. I’m just doing this to show that Scripture fits with Scripture. And Hebrews has just told us again, that He’s at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Daniel 7:9
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, (that is all earthly thrones) and the Ancient of Days did sit, (now that’s a little different title, isn’t it? Which of course, is a reference to God the Father, the Most High God) whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne (that is His place of authority) was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire "

There again, that’s just beyond our natural or mere human understanding. Now verse 10, just to give us a little glimpse of this throne room of Heaven.

Daniel 7:10
"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: (now look at this next statement) thousand thousands (that’s millions. Millions) ministered unto him, (millions of what? Angels. The Angelic hosts.) and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

And then of course, we leap to the end of the ages, when the White Throne Judgment is set and the books are opened, but that’s beside the point for us today. Those books remain sealed with a wax kind of a seal. Now jump over to verse 13.

Daniel 7:13-14
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold. one like the Son of man (see here it is, way back here in the Old Testament. Here we have the Son) came with the clouds of heaven, (now whether those clouds are angelic hosts as I think, that’s probably debatable but) came to the Ancient of Days, (the same one he spoke of in verse 9) and they brought him near before him. And there was given him (the Son) dominion and glory, and a kingdom, (this of course, is leading up to His spiritual reign here on earth, that will be both spiritual and physical or material in nature by design) that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and a kingdom which shall not be destroyed."

Well, that’s not the point we’re making. What I want you to see, is this relationship between God the Father on the throne at this time and God the Son as He comes before Him.

Alright now back to Hebrews chapter 8, you’ve got this same picture of how this High Priest after the order of Melchizedek is seated at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens. Where’s Heaven? Well when you find out, you tell me. We don’t know, but it’s out there someplace, and it’s real. It’s visible, it’s physical, and one day, we’re going to be there and I think we’re getting closer all the time. Now verse 2 of Hebrews chapter 8.

Hebrews 8:2
"A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."

Now I’m going to take a two-fold approach to that. As a "minister of the sanctuary" it could possibly take the point that God the Son is at the very core of the Body of Christ. He is the Core of the true dwelling place of God, which is you and I as believers. When we've entered into His Salvation the core of our being is what then belongs to God for its from there that He does all and becomes the all in all. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Now maybe we’d better go back, and look at it in I Corinthians chapter 3. You know, I always have to keep remembering, I’ve taught it once everybody knows it, but on the other hand I have to realize that we have a lot of people who've only heard it once, and that’s not enough. So bear with me and we’ll repeat some of these basic fundamentals of the faith over and over.

1Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
Now just for kicks allow me this one exception to the rule, allow me to use another interpretation here to see if there's a difference and we'll make use of Weymouth's NT:

1Co 3:16 "Do you not know that you are God's Sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God has His home within you?"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXII

Luke 18:34
"And they (the Twelve who’d been with Him now for three years) understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."
Well, you know, I have to ask the question. Who hid it? God did. It wasn’t for them to know. Because can you imagine what these twelve men would have done even in these intervening days between this and the crucifixion if they would have known? It would have just upset the whole apple cart. But they didn’t know. Remember the events of the crucifixion and how that they ran for their lives. They scattered as I’ve said before, like a flock of quail. But it wasn’t until AFTER the resurrection that Peter got bold as bold can be, because now with the power of resurrection, confirming, regardless of what those Romans could do to him, he had resurrection power. He had resurrection Life. He had nothing to fear. He had the power of an endless life flowing in His veins.

But they did not know it. And all you have to do is just search your memory. My when they put those Roman guards around the tomb, did the eleven and did Mary and Martha, some of those, just camp out a little further away and wait? No, they weren’t around. They had no idea He was going to be raised from the dead.

And remember, in John chapter 20, when Mary Magdalene comes to anoint the body as was the custom, did she have any idea He would be raised from the dead? Well, of course not. It just took them all by surprise even though the Old Testament was adamant that He would be raised from the dead. So always remember these things and that it wasn’t until after the death, burial and resurrection and then His ascension that this amazing Gospel of Grace was able to be promoted. All these things remained a mystery or a secret from them and many others as well. Why? Because Isaiah chapter 53 when studied will reveal that all this is so and especially verses 5 and 10 because its here and 1 Peter 2:24 that we learn of the person who follows Christ through the cross, His death to sin and on through His ascension that that person is restored just as if he had not been a son of Adam in his rebellion.

And even then, for the first several years after and Peter and the others are proclaiming to Israel, they don’t attach salvation to this death, burial and resurrection and especially His ascension. All they could understand is that the King can still be what He promised to be because He’s not dead, He’s alive. But, it isn’t until the Apostle Paul comes that he now has the revelation that this has become The Gospel of Graces finished work for the salvation for the whole human race.(I Corinthians 15:1-4 and Romans 10:9-10; Galatians 2:20 and others) Not just for the Hebrew, not just for the Gentiles but for everyone and through all of that then, we come up with this New High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Alright, now verse 28 again of Hebrews chapter 7.

Hebrews 7:28
"For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; (they’re going to die) but the word of the oath, which was since the law, (on this side of the Cross) maketh the Son, (Who we’ve been emanating all the way through Hebrews.) who is consecrated (or has finished, fulfilled brought to a close or end and then consummated everything) forevermore." (study these closely Hebrews 2:10, 5:9; Luke 13:39 and John19:30 under the word perfected)

Nothing more now needs to be done. Everything that God required to satisfy the sin(s) of mankind is accomplished. Now, I’m sure very few of us (and I certainly don’t even claim to) understand the workings of the mind of God with regard to the shed Blood and the forgiveness. We understand the workings of it but the very mind of God behind it, why, why did He have to have a blood sacrifice? Oh, I’ve got an idea, but to be able to just sit down and to lay it out so that almost anybody can understand. No, I can’t do that. Nor can I do service to explain God's Love which is demonstrated or exhibited through it all. He just boggles my spirit and mind with it all.

But there are a lot of things. In fact, we were just talking about the Triune God (Elohim) - what we call the Trinity. There again the word Trinity isn’t in your Bible, but the whole concept of a Triune God is and listen, there’s no way you can understand that except by loving trust. We just can’t fathom it. How can three personalities be in three different places and yet operate as one? I can’t understand it but I can believe it. I know it because the Book says it. And I receive it by His faith and my trusting in that faith.

Now I'm going to pause just here to reveal something my wife just saw in Johns gospel and this may prove interesting with what we've been saying and sharing. Lets look at chapter 6 and pick up the flow at verse 61:
John 6:61-65 "When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, 'Doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, 'Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.'"
John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Now here's the note worthy point look at verse 66 and what is said there....notice its placement in chapter 6, that's right verse 66 as this is mans number 6 and it is repeated here as 6-6-6- to get our attention. For just as those who were following Him turned back so it is with the worlds churches they too have turned back because what He has revealed is hard for mere mortal man to accept. If man remain practical, earthy, fleshly or is his natural state he does not nor can he receive the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Because they are spiritually discerned or understood or judged through mans re-birthed spirit.

In fact, I was just telling somebody, that the more I look at this, the more I understand that, had God not been a Triune God, none of this would have worked. Have you ever thought of that? It wouldn’t have worked. Because you see, while Christ was dead on the Cross, if He was the only person of the Godhead, then God would have been what? Dead. Who would have called Him from the tomb if He was the only One? Nobody.

But you see, we have a Triune God. And while Christ was dead and in the tomb, we still had God the Father of spirits and God the Spirit with all the power necessary to raise Him from the dead. Well, the same way when Christ went back to glory. Who came down? The Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit as a third Person of the Trinity, my, we’d be destitute of a lot of these things. And so, we have to have everything just exactly the way God laid it out but it’s hard to understand unless we can take it by trusting His faithfulness. The Bible says it. The Bible teaches it. And we rest on it, even though we can’t always understand it.

Alright now the same way, the Son now had been set at the right hand of the Majesty on High and we pick that up now in chapter 8 verse 1.

Hebrews 8:1
"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXXI

Hebrews 7:28a
"For the law (the Mosaic Law, remember what we shared about teaching when you see “the law”) maketh men high priests who have infirmity; (they’re human. They’re going to sin, they’re going to fail and one day they’re going to die and they’re out of the priesthood.) but the word of the oath, which was since the law,…"
In other words, His priesthood kicked in after the work of the Cross, not before. And I mentioned that it’s on this side of the Cross that our salvation is consummated because He had to die. He had to be buried. And He had to arise in resurrection power in order for our salvation to be possible.

Remember the crucifixion and the two men crucified with Him one on each side and then theirs the disciples? One man rebuked Christ and the other asked forgiveness as he saw Him a just man and innocent of any crime just as the Roman rules had. The second man the Lord said to him that that day he'd be with Him in paradise or Abraham's bosom, which according to Christ was a holding place for those who had died from Adam until Christ. To these souls there held, He proclaimed the message of this Salvation, which the youngman executed with Him heard as well, and then it states that He led the captivity captive to the holiest place where they received this so great a Salvation.(Luke 16: 22; Ephesians 4:8-10, Psalm 68:18, Colossians 2:15, 1:18-29) And we could go into John 6 and speak of the bread which Jesus said was His flesh which is true bread or manna from heaven and His blood which is true drink or of the Spirit of Eternal Life. But we'll not do that just here what I want to say is that the disciples like the youngman shortly were faced with so great a Salvation after His return or ascension when they were given the second blessing of promise. The New Covenant, that blessing being the power to be a son of God. Because as Israel had been redeemed through Moses so they as a nation could have received the Salvation offered them, but they refused, at least three times as recorded in Acts. Now this is all said to point to the fact that when we're converted or we have received redemption we're placed by God within a corral [which we've called our first estate] for our training and teaching by the Holy Spirit in the path of righteousness and the development of God's image and likeness being restored and the main one is His Agape Love through which we're more than willing to accept the crisis that is placed before us. This crisis is nothing short of our dieing to all that can be named or called self, the spirit of the world or the prince of the power of the air. Now there is more that can be said but for now we'll return to our study.

Now, a lot of folks have a hard time understanding that I maintain that the Four Gospels cannot have our Gospel of Grace in them because Christ hadn’t died yet. I think some try to come back with "Well, they must have known that He was going to." Oh did they? Turn back with me to Luke 18 and let the Scripture speak for itself, and this isn’t the only place, this is just one of the easier ones to remember.

So if you’re ever appealing to some lost person on some of these things and they come back and say "Oh well, they must have known that He was going to die. They knew that He was going to rise from the dead." No they didn’t. They had no idea. Now granted the Old Testament did; now after the fact, see we can go back into the Old Testament and we can see that it was evident that Christ would die and be resurrected, but His followers didn’t know that. Alright you got it? Luke 18 verse 31. This is toward the end of His earthly ministry. They’ve been with Him now three years and they are on their way back up to Jerusalem for the final days. In fact most don't know that those final days also marked the end to Israel's priesthood and it system of worship not to mention the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. Even though the Lord told them what was about to happen, just like the prophets of old the people that were being addressed did not always understand nor could they see the handwriting on the wall so to speak. And sad to say that many there are in our day and time that can't either.

Luke 18:31
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and he 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."

Jesus said all these prophecies will be fulfilled and we know they were. And now to see that He knew exactly what was coming, He tells them:

Luke 18:32-33
"For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, (the Romans) and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on. And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again."

Now look at verse 34. We should all know these verses but a lot of people out there don’t know this. Look what the Scripture says,

Luke 18:34
"And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXX

And so, this is exactly the mentality of not only those Hebrews and the church as we find it now in this time. They’d been steeped in Judaism, and in the Old Testament, and then to have to accept the fact that all that has been fulfilled, it’s got to be laid aside; it wasn’t easy then nor is it now. In our day and time it encounters much resistance mainly because of the number of people involved and the depth of its deception. Because it accommodates mans flesh and his understanding of what is known as religion. They don't know or understand that God's idea of religion is much higher than mans and that Jesus as the son of man did not deviate from His appointed course nor did He give in to mans desires. So always keep that in mind, but at the same time remember, as Paul writes in Romans, that all these things were written for our learning. So I trust we are, even as we study Hebrews, learning a lot of the things that pertain even to us today. Alright, so let’s just jump in at verse 25 where we finished.

Hebrews 7:25
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, (in other words, by believing that finished work of the Cross) seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

Now I didn’t really comment on that last part of the verse. But it’s just simply to tell us that God will never stop being all that we need. Even when we get to that eternal state when there’s no longer the necessity for interceding for us as we struggle through this life. Yet, the confidence that we have is that this relationship with our great High Priest will never end. It is forever and ever and ever. And this is also born witness to in Revelation chapter 8 and verses 3 and 4.

Now then, we can go into verse 26.

Hebrews 7:26
"For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;"

Now if you’ll just analyze that for a moment, could any of that apply to a priest of Levi? No. No, mere human can measure up to that. This was something that only Christ Himself could fulfill. And that’s the kind of a High Priest we have. He is harmless, undefiled, totally separated from sinners. He didn’t have that old sin nature that we’re born with. He was always God. Even while “the son of man”, He remained or stayed the course, the old or ancient path as it is revealed in the scriptures and which He opened the mind of His flowers to shortly after His resurrection. And of course was proclaimed to be, "...made higher than the heavens" because He stayed this course. Its this same course that Israel as a young nation just birth from Egypt was called to, and those of us who through our passing through the same first estate can now enter because Jesus Christ has done it first for us and God requires it of us also. Because when we come to know our girl friend, we are said to love her and cherish her, just as we're to come to know God in Christ. We have to come to know Him and thereby have developed, His Agape Love, within us again. The secret of dieing on the cross and our being placed within the corral in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, our first blessing. Now then, verse 27.

Hebrews 7:27a
"Who needeth not daily, as those high priests,…"

See how this is constantly showing us that he’s talking to Hebrews. And they knew the role of the priesthood in Judaism. The ordinary priest who went in the daily ministrations of the sanctuary from the altar out there at the gate and then stopped at the laver of cleansing. And then into the little front room of the sanctuary wherein there was the table of showbread that had to be changed every day. And the candle-holder that had to be trimmed and filled with oil every day. The altar of incense, that had to be kept burning with incense. And that was their routine day in and day out from the human element, a ministration dependent on mans works of self-effort. And, of course, when they died someone else would have to take their place. Alright, but every day they would have to go through the ritual of this maintaining the temple worship. They had no insight of the true meaning of all those articles of the temple as being symbols of Christ and His ministry as our High Priest. And this is still the block of stumbling even in our time.

Hebrews 7:27b
"…to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, (because they too were sinners, even though they were priests, remember to that they thought that they were above the gentiles and therefore had no sin like that of the gentile dogs) and then for the people’s.(the Nation of Israel. But Christ didn’t have to do this) for this he did once, when he offered up himself."

Now I’ve always stress when in Hebrews, look for the number of times where it tells us that Christ did these things "once." Once for all, as the old hymn put it. So "for this he did once, when he offered up himself." And we’re going to see in another chapter where the blood of animals, bulls and goats couldn’t do it but His singular sacrifice finished everything. Why? Because the value God puts on His Blood as this Blood has Eternal Life’s power in it or is an Endless Life force in itself. Now again I have to deviate somewhat from our course because you see Jesus was not only the last son in the heirship of King David but through John the Baptist [as the last son in Levis heritage] was ordained a priest at the river in His baptism by John. For this is the meaning of, "to fulfill all righteousness" by them both. And now verse 28.

Hebrews 7:28
For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXIX

I Corinthians 1:17a
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:…"
This same Gospel of Salvation that Romans 1:16 referred to, "how that Christ died, shed His blood, was buried and rose from the dead." Now finishing the verse.

I Corinthians 1:17
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."
In other words, not with smooth silver-tongued oratory, as we find in our day and time. Now here’s the verse I wanted you to see. Verse 18.

I Corinthians 1:18a
"For the preaching of the cross (let that sink in) is to them that perish (the lost world, that means all who choose to remain as mere humans, yes to them it’s) foolishness;…"
Today they would probably say, "You mean to tell me that somebody that was on a Roman Cross two-thousand years ago has anything to do with me? I can’t believe that!" Well, then they are perishing. So for those who hear the preaching of the Cross and they perish, it’s foolishness. And why is it so, they take it all lightly and in many cases mockingly though they're not even aware that that is just what they are doing. Now for the flipside.

I Corinthians 1:18b
"…but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
For those of us who have latched on to this "so Great a Salvation" it is the power of God. Years back I made the statement. When God saves a sinner, whether it’s me or you or a Mafia or a well-heeled real nice socialite, makes no difference. It takes more power to save that person out of the clutches of sin and death than to create the universe. Now that may be a play on words, but nevertheless, hopefully it will sink in. That’s why Paul is always emphasizing the power of Christ’s resurrection, when He defeated all the forces of Satan and death and hell and set us free from it all. It took or required tremendous power, because Satan is powerful. Those chains which had a hold were not some small bracelet, they were heavy and securely forged. Notice also Paul here don't say, "but unto us which have salvation it is the power of God" NO he said by the Holy Spirit that we're "saved". For its in the process of being saved that we're placed within the corral of that redemption or redeeming process through which we all have to pass before we can receive or adoption of son-ship. Because its in it that we're given the power to become a son.

Now he’s (Satan) not as powerful as God, but he’s powerful. And he’s not going to let go of anybody without a fight. And I think most of us have experienced it. We’re plagued with doubts and that’s the satanic power? And so always remember that "the preaching of the Cross is to us who are saved the power of God." Let’s go down to verse 21, here in chapter 1 of I Corinthians.

I Corinthians 1:22
"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom;"
Now that’s evident, all the way through their history the Hebrews had to have a sign in order to understand that God was in it. And so they "required a sign and the Greeks were seeking after wisdom (the philosophy and all that) but, to those of us who are called it’s Christ the power of God."

There’s that word "power" again. The same power that caused Him to perform the miracles, but now that’s been imparted to us by virtue of our trusting in His faith, and the wisdom of God which beats any intellectual power on earth. Now before we continue I must say that there are many out there that are seeking the power, but it is the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, to get wealth and riches...etc. you get the idea don't you? Well, that's not what this power is for this power is the power of God to break the ties or chains that hold us in sins grip, it the power to release us form the influence of the spirit of the world and the power of the prince of the air. Its the power that gives to us the right to become a God-child again but only after we've been tutored for a season, and we determine it length by our willingness to be receptive of the revelations of God. Which causes the angels to cray out Holy Holy Holy.

Hebrews chapter 7 and we’re still on the Priesthood of Christ after the order of Melchizedek. Remembering, I’ve got to keep repeating it, that we’re dealing primarily with Jewish people who were still having a hard time separating themselves from any part of Judaism. And that’s understandable. You know, it’s no different for people today, especially if they’ve been in a cult and they’ve been brainwashed for a lifetime. And then to see these Truths and all of that that they’ve been taught was contrary to Scripture. So it’s not easy to just turn their backs on what they’ve been taught for years. People don't know the difference as those who are in our religious systems of this day and time aren't much different than those in a cult because they fit into those who Paul, James, Peter and John warn about when they say to be a wear of strange doctrines and other gospels. Many of the gospels taught by our churches Jesus Himself would not have had anything to do with. Because God's Love is greater and requires us to say what He has said and revealed through the cross and the Holy Spirits workings within us.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXVIII

Now you know, there are people that try to teach that everybody will make it sooner or later because of all this. No, no. Because God has demanded that we accept all this by trusting His Faithfulness - plus nothing. With no works attached. With nothing, except recognizing that yes, I’m a fallen creature. I’m a sinner because I’m a son of Adam. But, I receive this teaching and through it believe wholeheartedly that Christ in me has done everything in dying for me, and being raised from the dead! That God saw me as being in Him through His sufferings even His ascension and now we're seated within Him and hid in God. So when we do that, then God in Grace reaches down and does everything that needs to be done to bring about His Salvation in me. This Salvation is the working of His Divine LOVE within my heart first to receive and then to return or give of it freely both to God and then those around me. For this is the purpose and the meaning of learning of Christ as He lived in God's Divine Love and showed it to those of His creation about Him.

I guess I’ve been putting it All, He is the All in all, the things that God did the moment we believe. Oh, He Redeemed us, He justified us, He sanctified us, He glorified, and forgave us. He placed us into the Body, and He gave us the indwelling Holy Spirit. He secured us forever, He made us alive, and He translated us into the kingdom of Love and Eternal Life without which one will see God. I think I had probably 15 or 20 things that God did the moment we were saved when we believed. It’s done! That’s what Hebrews means, "He saved us to the uttermost." He didn’t do just part of it and say, "Well, if you measure up, I’ll finish it." No, He did it all. And that’s the whole idea of Salvation. But we have to receive this Truth by way of personal illumination of revelation within us before it can have its perfect work accomplished for us. And this is the reason and purpose of God's placing of us within the first estate wherein Israel wondered for 1500 to 2000 years but remained behind the veil of flesh wherein is found sin and death.

Alright now then, let’s move on just a little bit further in chapter 3, down to verse 26, I’m going to skip verse 25 because that big word ‘propitiation’ might scare somebody. When it means: "used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holiest, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory." But unlike this alter they have no right to the alter that we share which is the cross of sacrifice. Where we with Him in His blood (the fruit of the vine) which was shed and as said, God sees us in this blood and flesh (bread, divine manna, this Gospel illuminated within man's heart) through the water and the blood, which flowed from His side.

Romans 3:26
"To declare, I say, at this time his (not ours) righteousness; that he (God) might be just, (which means exactly what it says. He’s not cutting corners. He’s not making a deal. He is totally just) and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (I Corinthians 11:23-32; 15:1-4, Romans 10:9-10)
Now we might remove the word "in" and when we do we find that is says this: "To declare, at this time that His righteousness; that God is just and is the justifier of him which believe Jesus."

It’s so simple. Yet I don’t want to oversimplify. When I say, we believe it, I mean we TOTALLY TRUST IN IT. You remember in Hebrews chapter 6 and I made it so clear that a lot of people make a fly-by at it. They’re enlightened; they have a taste. But it never takes and they go right back into their old lifestyle. The lower way and thereby never step up into the Life of Christ which is afforded them. But for the true believer who totally, totally relies on this finished work of the Cross to save them, then God has guaranteed that we are His forever. As long as He lives!

Alright, now back up a page to Romans chapter 1, and here we have another tremendous salvation verse that I think that we’ve used over and over. Romans 1 verse 16.

Romans 1:16a
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (this Gospel) is the power of God unto salvation (and again) to every one that (what?) believeth;…"

Did it say works for it? NO! It says "believes" or take God at His word.Oh! There is one thing we all must do and that is to give the Holy Spirit first place or room within us or freedom to do as He is directed By God to do. But sadly many didn't, they instead substitute religion or the teachings of man for the Holy Spirit's training and teaching before all else. They fail to seek God and His righteousness or to learn of Christ and His determination to the higher life by the denial of all self-will and the easier road of the flesh, mans gratification of himself.

Is there a Plus? No! To everyone that believes. There are so many of these, especially in Romans, but let’s go on a little further. I’m going to go ahead to I Corinthians chapter 1, and my what a statement! Now this is God’s Word, this isn’t me. Like I said a moment ago this isn’t from some denominational book of doctrines, this is from the Book. And Paul, writing to a Gentile congregation down in wicked Corinth says:

1Corinthians 1:17
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." To-day we can say "this Gospel" because Paul has already laid its foundation, in Christ.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXVII

Well, the only way we can come to God is as a sinner. We can’t come to God and say, "Now look. I’m just here to bargain; I want to get as good a deal as I can. I’m not all that bad so I might as well get as much as I can." No. Every human being has to come before God recognizing that he has missed the mark; he’s a sinner, he’s lost. And we’re walking dead people. Dead spiritually because we all start out separated from God the very moment that we draw out first breath. There is NO one born into this world righteous before God NO one. There were only two Adam before he fell and Jesus when He came as "the son of man" but Jesus remain on the higher ground throughout His life and that by way of personal choice.

Alright then, verse 24, and look what it says immediately. "Being justified freely." It’s just like back in Genesis 3. Just as soon as man fell as a result of Adam’s act of lawlessness, sin, God comes right back and sets in motion a plan of redemption, promising the seed of the woman. Well it’s the same way here. Just as soon as Paul declares every human being a sinner, the very next verse he gives us that escape route. Isn’t it glorious? And the fact that most people won’t take it is even worse. But nevertheless, here we have it.

Romans 3:24
"Being justified (declared just as if we’d never sinned) freely (see all these words and how loaded they are? We’re not justified because we’ve earned it. We’re not justified because we really deserve it. No. We’re justified freely) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

And what’s Grace? The finished works or benefit of our great benefactor. God doesn’t justify us because we have one ounce of deserving. He justifies only because of His Grace. And that Grace was epitomized; it was brought to the crescendo through the redemption or the process of buying us back that is in Christ Jesus. The just for the unjust. Now just mull that over for a minute. Through the Grace of God, when we recognize that we were sinners, God could come right back immediately and say, "That’s fine, I know you’re lost, but I’ve already bought you back, I've REDEEMED you.” But notice it did not say I've Salvationed you, NO but rather Redeemed you. Salvation though a larger umbrella which covers redemption is not our starting point, we have all got to pass through redemption long before we can every reach God's intended Salvation program. For just like a child grows up onto preschool and then Kindergarten and then through higher levels of schooling. We too must progress through redemption, under the training and teaching of our tutor the Holy Spirit and His watchful eye until we reach a stage of our first crisis. Wherein we find before us our undoneness and sins utter ugliness within us and we begin to desire more of God's righteousness and Christ. And this process may repeat itself until such time as we're deemed ready to accept the need of our death to sin and the spirit of the world which holds sway over and within us. For when we've learned Christ we learn His way of the higher road from which He did not turn or cave in and the need for our doing as He has done in order to be a doer of the Word or Will and law of God. All this is required because at redemption we are given the right or power to become a son of God, which simply means that we're not at that time a true son. There remains a time or season of preparation until we're deemed ready to become a son.

Remember that I gave the story of the little boy, who had made a boat. This little fellow had made a small sailboat. Spent months making this tremendous little boat. And so one day his parents took him out to a park that had a small lake. And he started sailing his sailboat and he was just having a ball with it but, as kids are prone to do, his mind was suddenly changed to something else. And he ran off and left his sailboat unattended, and when he came back, his little sailboat was gone. He was so heartbroken.

But, now months later, he and his Mom were walking down the street and they went by a pawn shop and in the window of that pawn shop was his little sailboat. It was still beautiful, and hadn’t been hurt a bit. And he said, "Mama I’ve got to go in here." So he takes off into the pawn shop and he runs up to the fellow at the counter and he says, "I want my sailboat." "Well, what are you talking about, the pawn broker asked?" The boy pointed to the boat in the window. "It’s mine, I made it." The fellow says, "Sorry buddy, but I’ve got money in that boat. You can have it when you pay the price."

Well, whatever the price was the little fellow went out and told his Mom, "I’ve got to some work." And so he did. He mowed lawns, he raked leaves, he scooped snow. He did everything he could until he finally had enough money to go back to that pawn shop and he bought his sailboat. Now are you getting the picture? He made it. He worked for it. He lost it. And now he had to work so he could buy it back. And as he was carrying it out the door, he said to his Mama, with tears running down his cheeks. "Mama, this boat that I made, I’ve bought it back! And now it’s mine!"

You see that’s exactly what God has done. He made us. He created us, but He lost us. Where? When Adam fell. Now when we were in Genesis, you know, I made it very clear that every human being was in Adam and because of Adam’s rebellion, lawlessness we all inherited that sin nature and its accompanying death. And that’s why we’re born sinners. And so God lost us, when He lost Adam.

And now He has paid the price of our total redemption, through that work of the Cross. Like the little boy who had to go and do all the various menial jobs, Christ in turn did it when He went to the Cross. And so He paid the price of redemption. But remember, whenever we present salvation to the human race, it’s always on that basis; yes, it’s all done. The price has been paid. Forgiveness has been declared. Reconciliation has been declared but you cannot appropriate it without coming through His faith and the work of the cross. It’s not an automatic.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CLXXVI

I hope and pray that yesterdays post was a help and there are many who find themselves in such a straight as that therein spoken of. But now a last we'll return to our regular study as it helps clear the air about such things. In a manor that most wont venture to travel because they refuse to accept the call to "come out from among them" and then "to learn of Him" with whom we're to have to do.
Now picking back up in Romans 3.

Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Stop right there a minute and keep your hand in Romans. Flip all the way over to chapter 5, still in Romans. Now this is what the Book says. This isn’t my idea. This isn’t some denomination’s idea. This is what God’s Word says:


Romans 5:12
"Wherefore, as by one man, (not one woman) sin entered into the world, and death(came along with it) by sin (and so because of Adam’s disobedience) and so death passed upon (how many?) all men, (not just the worst or the few but rather ALL men, the whole human race) for all have sinned:"

All have sinned, every human being. Black and white, rich or poor, Oriental or Western makes no difference - the whole human race is included in this word "all." Death has passed upon all. Sin has been declared as a part of all and there’s nothing more that we can add or take away that Adam precipitated all of this curse that we call ‘sin and death.’ Don’t ever forget that. By one man, Adam, sin entered and with it death came as well.

I guess we could look at some more. Let's go ahead and go to I Corinthians chapter 15, and dropping all the way over to verse 45. Remember, I Corinthians 15 is the tremendous resurrection chapter. But here again, we have to show this difference between Adam, who has set the whole human race under the curse and under sin and death; as compared to the second Adam – Christ, Who made provision to bring every human being out of it and the setting of our feet back as "IF" sin and death had not ever been, as we saw back in Hebrews.

I Corinthians 15:45
"And so it written, The first man, Adam was made (or created) a living soul; the last Adam (which is a reference to Jesus as the son of man) was a quickening (or a life giving or restoring) spirit." Do you see that? What kind of life? A Kingdom or Divine Life and Endless and Eternal Life as promised within the framework of the New Covenant, wherein God undertakes to do all in all. Then drop down to verse 47.

I Corinthians 15:47-49
"The first man Adam is of the earth, (he’s) earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven (He's spiritual). As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: (Those of us who are of the race of Adam, those who remain of the external or material realm) and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."
That is once we enter into God’s tremendous saving Grace. And without it we are doomed for total separation from God.

Alright now, if you’ll flip back to Romans chapter 3 because we’re going to spend most of the time on this verse that says, "wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him." Remember the word "by" means through so we have to go through or come through Christ and just how and when is this done? We'll be for finding this out along our course of study though we've already revealed it, elsewhere.