Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. The name of
the message is Mediator, Testator, and Executor. Mediator, Testator,
and Executor. Hebrews chapter 9. We'll be reading. verses 11 to 17. But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place. haven't obtained eternal
redemption for us. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? And for this cause he is the
mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the
death of a testator. For a testament is a force after
men are dead. Otherwise it is of no strength
at all while the testator liveth. Now tonight I'd like us to look
at and consider the Lord Jesus Christ as the testator of the
new covenant. the Son of God, God incarnate
in the flesh, the second person of the Trinity, the Word is the
testator of the new covenant. Let's consider verse 14 as an
introduction to our lesson. The Lord Jesus Christ has purged
the conscience of his people from dead works to serve the
living and true God. Look at verse 14. How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? Now under the Old Testament mosaic
economy, only in a ceremonial way the blood of those sacrificial
animals did purify Israel, those who are God's chosen people. And this was only in a ceremonial
way, because we know that the blood of animals sacrificed could
never take away sin. We know that. We know that because
the scripture declares that. But they pictured the Lamb of
God. They pictured in type the Lord
Jesus Christ, who would take away the sins of God's chosen
people, His elect now remember those those sacrifices in the
Old Testament were only offered for Israel They weren't offered
for the Egyptians. They weren't offered for the
Hittites They were only for Israel in this pictures Christ dying
for his church It's a type in a picture and He did this Christ died upon Calvary's cross in
the room instead of His people. And God is only pleased with
Christ. We need to burn that into our
minds. God is only pleased with Christ and His precious blood
to take away sin. Nothing else. Nothing else. The blood of animals can never
take away sin. Again, this blood sacrifice typified
in the Old Testament, they typified the atonement and sacrifice of
Christ. He is the sacrificial lamb. He
is the one who's made atonement for all the sins of all the elect
of all the ages. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
is so satisfying to God. It's so satisfying to God that
it's removed all the sins of God's chosen people from God's
sight forever. And we are complete in Christ.
Now we're still sinners, aren't we? We still experience sin,
don't we? But God in Christ has forgiven
our sins. And the blood of Christ is so
effectual, so satisfying to God, that it's removed all the sins
of God's chosen people from God's sight forever. If these Old Testament sacrifices
did purify the people, hold back the wrath of God and sanctify
the flesh in an external way, how much more shall the very
blood of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, offered up to God. Now remember, it's offered up
to God because he's the offended party, isn't he? Offered up to
God without spot and without blemish. Perfect. Through the Holy Spirit, by design
and purpose, thoroughly cleanse us, beloved, and purify our souls,
and deliver us from seeking acceptance through our own dead works. We've renounced all that, haven't
we? We know that we can find no acceptance in our dead works
before God, and that's what our works are, and left to ourselves,
that's what our works are. Our works are like filthy rags
in the eyes of the Lord. So we've renounced that we can
seek acceptance through our dead works. We've been taught this
by the Holy Spirit of God. And the Old Testament saints
came to God through types, seeing Christ in them. How much better
to come to God in Christ, looking to Him by faith? Looking to Him by faith. They
found comfort and confidence in the types and in the shadows.
How much more comfort and assurance do we find looking to Christ?
We just look to Him. When God's blood-bought people
are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, we cease from our labors,
beloved. We cease from our labors. We
cease from our dead works, which is mentioned in verse 14. We trust Christ and Christ alone
and under the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
God enlightens our minds. We who are our blood bought saints
of God learn that Jesus Christ himself, the second person in
the Trinity, the word of God by himself purged our sins by
himself. My. And we learn that by the
shedding of His precious blood, that He's obtained eternal redemption. He's obtained it for us. He died for us. He's spotless,
sinless. And He's obtained eternal redemption
for us. By the supreme sacrifice of Himself. He sanctified and perfected forever
all of His covenant people, beloved. That's why Paul wrote, we're
complete in Christ. We're complete in Him, not in
ourselves, hey, because we know what we are. But beloved, right
now the believer trusting in Christ is complete in Him. It's wonderful. and all we who
are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. We've been delivered
from dead works, haven't we? We've been delivered from dead
works. When God the Holy Spirit translates us from the kingdom
of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. This is His
ministry. This is what He does. He teaches
us. And those who are trusting in
anything, those who are trusting in anything they do, and I mean
just a pinprick of works, Those who are trusting in anything,
just a pinprick of works, to gain merit and favor with God,
they've not been purged from dead works. They've not been
purged from dead works. They've not been regenerated.
And if God does not intervene in their lives, they will go
to their eternal doom, trusting in their own works. And the believer
says, God had mercy on me. Oh my. He had mercy on me. I've obtained mercy. Salvation
is by grace alone, through faith alone, and the object of that
faith for the believer is Christ. It's Christ. It's Christ alone
who accomplished salvation for His people. By His work alone. By His work alone. Salvation
is all of grace through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Now let us consider our text,
beloved. We'll be looking at Hebrews 9, verses 15 to 17. I read the context of that, and
I wanted to bring 14 in there. We'll be looking at three points.
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, the Word of God,
is the mediator of the new covenant. He's the mediator of the new
covenant. Number two, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity,
the Word of God, is the testator of the new covenant. And number
three, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, the Word
of God, is the executor of the New Covenant. Let's look at verses
15 to 17. And for this cause he is the
mediator, and we know this is Christ, of the New Testament,
that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the First Testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, There
must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a
testament is a force after men are dead. Otherwise it is of
no strength at all whether the testator live it. Now the New
Testament refers to the new covenant. The word of God speaks of two
covenants. There's one which is a covenant of works. Keep
the whole law of God or die. Keep the whole law of God or
die. The other covenant is a covenant
of grace. To believe that Jesus Christ, the only one who honored
the whole law, the whole law of God for his people in his
life and in his death, in which he obtained eternal redemption
for his people. One covenant leads to eternal
death, and the other leads to eternal life. Look in verse 16,
the scriptures proclaim, for where a testament is, must also
of necessity be the death of a testator. Let's first consider this. Jesus
Christ, the second person of the Trinity, the Word of God,
is the mediator of the New Covenant. The mediator of the New Covenant.
Look at verse 15. And for this cause he is the
mediator of the New Testament, which is covenant that by means
of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance." Turn if you would to 1st Timothy. In 1st Timothy chapter 2 the
scriptures plainly declare that there is only one mediator between
God and man. Now there's false religions out
there that tell you there's many ways to God. There's not. There's
only one way. One way. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Plus nobody else. One mediator. One mediator. Look at this in 1 Timothy 2,
verses 5 and 6. For there is one God. One God. Look at this. And one mediator. Between God and man. One. Not multiple, just one. The man Christ Jesus. One mediator. Jesus Christ our
Lord. Who gave himself a ransom for
all to be testified in due time. He gave himself for all his people. All the elect of all the ages. Let's go back to Hebrews chapter
9 verse 15. Where we read the verse. The words this, and for this
cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament. Again, that's
covenant. John Gill and several other commentators said that
that's referred to as covenant in the Old Testament. So for
this cause, Jesus Christ died. Now note that by the means of
death, for the redemption of the transgression that were under
the First Testament, Testament or covenant, they which are called
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Right here
before us in scripture, God the Holy Spirit brings forth that
the Old Testament believers were redeemed by the death of Christ.
They're redeemed, they're not saved. I remember somebody telling
me one time, they told me, well the Jews were saved by doing
the sacrifices. And New Testament saints are
saved by Christ. No, no. The Old Testament saints are
saved the same way the New Testament saints are. By grace, through
faith, plus nothing. They look to Christ in the types
and shadows. We look to Christ on the cross. And now we look to our God. He's
risen. He's no longer on the cross.
He's risen. He's in glory. He's in glory. So right here
before us in the scripture, God the Holy Spirit brings forth
the Old Testament believers are redeemed by the death of Christ
in exactly the same way we are, for the same reasons, as justice
must be satisfied for their sins, right? Just as justice must be
satisfied for our sins. And who's the only one that God
is satisfied with? Christ. No one else. Remember? Sacrifices of those
animals could never take away sin. But we look to one who God
is absolutely satisfied with, and who has taken away the sins
of His people. Justice is satisfied in the only
mediator of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ. And redemption
only comes through He who is the God-man, mediator, the Lord
Jesus Christ, of whom all the prophets spoke. He's the one
the prophets spoke of. And the promise of eternal inheritance
was made to God's elect in and by Christ, the mediator of the
new covenant. The mediator of the covenant,
testament in our text. It is his blood and his blood
alone that purges our conscience, beloved, from dead works. to serve the living God, and
the believer in Christ is taught by God the Holy Spirit that the
blood of Christ has accomplished this for us. We're taught that,
aren't we, by the Holy Spirit of God. He's taught us that. We didn't know that before the
Lord saved us. We had no idea. We were one of
His blood-bought people. My. He's a composite. This is why the blood-bought
believer will have absolutely nothing to do with any doctrine
that promotes man's works and salvation. Because salvation's
only through Christ and through His shed blood. We don't have
nothing to do with what man can do. Don't yoke me in bondage. I'm freeing Christ. Praise God.
I'm freeing Him. My sins are forgiven. There's
life in the look. There's life in the look. Look
to Christ and Him alone. Oh my! He's the only Redeemer. And Jesus Christ is the only
fountain for sin and uncleanness for His people, the saints. In
the Old Testament, we're saved the same way as we are. They
were given faith to believe on the Messiah. They were granted
faith to believe, to look, to look to Him. They saw Christ
in the animal sacrifices and all those things that typified
Him. And they knew by the enlightening power of God, the Holy Spirit,
that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, must come and fulfill all the
types and the shadows and pictures that portrayed Him under the
old Mosaic economy. And let us remember that all
who are called of God receive the promise of eternal inheritance. The Old Testament's receipt Saints
received the same personal inward holy Efficace call from God the
Holy Spirit that all of us have received they were made willing
just like we were Just like we were in the day of his power
in the day of Israel look with the last part of that verse says
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance
and The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And even though
the Lord Jesus Christ had not yet come in the flesh as the
second person of the Blessed Trinity, He was their Mediator. He was their Mediator. And that
which was purposed and planned by God was executed by God, beloved. Was executed by God. And think
of the rejoicing in heaven When the God-man mediator entered
into heaven as the only mediator. There is the one they'd be looking
to. There he is. The only mediator as we saw there
in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5. There's only one mediator,
only one. The Lord Jesus Christ. Our text
proclaims in verse 15. That this could only be accomplished
by His death. Look at this. And for this cause
He is the mediator of the New Testament. That by means of death
He must die. He must. He came to save His
people from their sins. And how does He save His people
from their sins? By His death. By His death. By dying upon Calvary's cross.
He knew exactly what He was doing. I remember someone telling me
a long time, well, he learned what his mission was. No, he
did not. He was a king of kings and he
was born king and he's king now and he was king in eternity.
My, he knew exactly what he was doing. Exactly what he was doing. And for this cause, he is the
mediator of the New Testament that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament
or covenant, They which are called might receive the promise of
eternal inheritance. Now praise God, He's risen, beloved.
He's risen. He died, but He's risen. And
He's seated right now at the right hand of the Father. Interceding
for us. Interceding for us. Interceding
for all His blood-bought people. And He alone is our mediator,
isn't He? We don't have any other mediator. But Christ. He's the
only one. He's our only mediator with God
and the everlasting covenant now think of this to the everlasting
covenant that was planned and purposed in eternity that Christ
would die that God the Father gave gave a people to Christ
and that Christ would die from and that the Holy Spirit would
make him will and then regenerate him you know how that covenant
was ratified by the blood of Christ by the blood of Christ
Ratified by his own precious blood What a Savior Our great high
priest, our great high priest has obtained a more excellent
ministry. And this covenant was ratified by his blood that we
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Turn one chapter over to Hebrews
chapter 8 and look at verse 6. This is speaking of Christ. Our
great high priest has obtained a more excellent ministry. Look
at Hebrews 8, verse 6. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a
better covenant. Oh, a better covenant. The everlasting
covenant, which was established upon better promises. Better
promises. Our great High Priest again has
obtained a more excellent ministry being the mediator of a better
covenant, which was established upon better promises. And here
we have the differences between the Sinai covenant and the New
Covenant, which is the grand design being brought forth in
this epistle, the superiority of the New Covenant in Christ
Jesus our Lord. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
here In verse 6 of Hebrews chapter 8, described as the mediator
of a better covenant. We're taught in scripture that
the first covenant was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Referring to Moses who stood between God and the people of
Israel. When he went up to the mount with God. and received
the instructions which God was pleased to deliver him. James
Haldane brings forth this on this verse here in verse 6. The
better promises of the new covenant are salvation from sin and eternal
life. The promises of Sinai covenant
were all earthly, such as long life in the land of Canaan, plentiful
harvest, victory over enemies, and national prosperity. This
may be ascertained by consulting Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy
28. And therefore, that covenant, the one delivered at Sinai, was
ratified with the blood of bulls and goats, which could never
take away sin. And only sanctifies to the purifying
of the flesh. This new covenant, spoken of
here, this new covenant has been already stated as established
upon better promises. And it's ratified with the blood
of Christ. is ratified with the blood of
Christ, which cleanses the children of the covenant from all sin,
from all sin, and they shall be presented faultless before
the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy." So you see now,
he has obtained a more excellent ministry. A more excellent ministry. And he's the mediator of a better
covenant. Much better. A much better covenant,
beloved. which was established upon better
promises. The promises of God. The promises
of God, beloved. Think of this, beloved of God.
The first covenant stood on the foot of works. Do this and live. The new covenant stands on the
foot of grace and it's established in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
a better covenant. Much, much better covenant. And we see that, look at verses
10 to 12 in chapter 8. Look at this. 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 into their
mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them
a God and they shall be to me a people. Now this is speaking
of spiritual Israel, God's blood bought people. And they shall
not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the
greatest. Born again of the Holy Spirit of God. For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Oh, my. Oh, what a better covenant. And
note in verse 10, this is the new covenant. I will make with them after those
days, after the times of the Old Testament, when the Messiah
shall come in the gospel of God's grace shall be preached. And
know that I will put my laws in their minds, and write them
in their hearts. By the law of God we can understand several
things. The moral law of God, which is summed up in these two,
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and neighbor
as thyself. And all the commandments of our
Lord with respect to repentance, faith, and godliness. And the
whole word of God, which the believer loves and cherishes.
This is not written on tables of stones, but the heart of the
believer. And note in verse 10, I will
be to them their God and they shall be my people. Not as he
is God of all creation or the God of nature and providence,
but he is their God. As their father. As their father. The father of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And they, the blood washed saints of God are sons of God.
Whom God loved in a special way. Loved in a special way, chosen
Christ, the family of God in eternity. And then note in verse
11, they all shall know me from the least to the greatest. Every
believer is taught of God the Holy Spirit. We're students of
the Word, aren't we? And we're taught by the Holy
Spirit of God. There's nothing I've learned from this book that
God hasn't shown me. I can't lay claim to nothing.
He's revealed it to me, and he still is. When you read scripture,
my goodness, it's wonderful. It's wonderful. The Holy Spirit
teaches us and guides us and directs us through the Word of
God. Every believer is taught of God, the Holy Spirit. We're
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices of prayer and praise to our God. It ended out in verse
12, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. That's their
sin. Because all unrighteousness is
sin, right? The phrase tells us that God
will forgive our sins. God will pardon freely those
to whom he is reconciled in Christ. And forgiveness of his children's
sins is not only an act of mercy, but an act of justice because
Christ paid for our sins in our place. So it's an act of mercy
and it's an act of justice. Now justice doesn't fall upon
us, does it? But it fell upon our Savior and
our place. Oh my, what a Redeemer. And then
look at verse 12. There are sins and iniquities
where I remember no more. These are glorious words. Glorious
words for the believer. This means all sins. Do you know,
I heard a preacher, I was listening to a preacher today, one of the
grace preachers, and he said, we sin more when we don't even
know it. Than the things that we just
do on our own. We don't even know how much we sin. We don't. We're not even conscious of our
sin most of the time. But we sin, don't we? Look at
this marvelous verse. There's sins and iniquities I
will remember no more. all kinds of sins, original,
actual, before conversion, and beloved, after conversion. The
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has cleansed us from what? All
sin. All sin. So that God remembers
them no more. against us. They've been cast
in the depths of the sea. We talked about that. Brother
John, you've been on the ocean. We mentioned that a couple of
weeks ago. You've been on the ocean. You drop something in
the deep part of the ocean. You're never going to find it
again. It's gone. Gone. Never to be remembered. Never to be brought up against
us again. And we can't fathom this, can we? Because we're sinners.
And it doesn't give us a license to go crazy. Not at all. Not
at all. It makes us love the Savior even
more for the mercy we've received. We're cleansed from all our sin.
They cannot be found. They're gone. They're gone. Now let's go back to our text
in Hebrews 9 and consider the second point. Jesus Christ, the
second person of the Trinity, the Word of God, is the testator
of the new covenant. For where a testament or covenant
is, there also must of necessity be the death of the testator.
for a testament is of force after man are dead. Otherwise, it is
of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Now, the Greek
word there for testator means this, to arrange, dispose, to
put apart. And it is referenced to a person
who has made a will and one who has arranged at the disposal
of their estate by their own choosing. They can give their
estate to whomever they choose, can't they? Whoever they choose. And those who they choose will
inherit their estate. And this is done by them recording
their names on a legal document stating what each person will
receive after their death. After their death. And that which
is in a person's last will and testament is not executed until
that person dies. Until that person dies. And this
is what our text is bringing forth. As one great preacher
brought forth, a testament is a force after men are dead, otherwise
it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Now think upon this. In light of the new covenant,
The covenant of grace, beloved. All the arrangements of the new
covenant. All the arrangements of the new
covenant were made in eternity. Were made in eternity. By God,
the Father. God, the Son. And God, the Holy
Spirit. In eternity of old, before time
ever began. Before there was ever time, this
covenant was made. It's called the everlasting covenant.
And so let us ponder this. All the names of those who would
be recipients of God's sovereign grace and sovereign mercy through
the Lord Jesus Christ were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. before time ever was. And we're told this in the book
of Revelations. It says this in Revelation, it says, And all
that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. If any man have an ear, let him
hear. The book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Now this is a hated doctrine.
This is a hated doctrine by free-will, works-based religions. They hate
this doctrine. They do. They've made up a lie, saying
that God looked down through time and saw who would choose
Him. And it's proclaimed still. And it's a lie from the pit of
hell. That God looked down and saw who would choose Him, You
know what that does? That puts salvation in man's
hands. Not in God's hands. But salvation
is in God's hands, beloved, not in man's hands. And we who are God's blood-bought
saints, we know that's a lie because we've been taught of
God the salvations of the Lord. That God Himself in eternity
chose a people. God Himself did this. And He
chose a people in Christ. You know why? Because it pleased
Him to do so. It pleased Him to do so. There was nothing in us that
merited this. This is pure, free grace. And this is pure, free and sovereign
grace. This is mercy, mercy without
bounds, mercy that we can't even imagine. We can't even fathom. This mercy. There was nothing
in us that merited God to choose us. It's all based upon the free
and sovereign grace of God in Christ from eternity. From eternity. And so let us remember that a
dead man can't decide to do anything, can they? You ever see a dead
man decide to do anything? You ever seen a body get up and
decide they want to do something? They're dead. They don't move,
do they? They're lifeless. But yet, false religion tells
dead men that they can choose. that they can come to God, that
God's wringing His hands, waiting for them. It's alive from the
pit of hell. God has mercy on whom here have
mercy. And He has compassion on whom here have compassion. And if He hadn't had mercy upon
us, we'd still be dead in sins. We'd still be running from God.
We'd still have enmity with God in our minds by wicked works.
and left to ourselves that we would have plunged headlong into
eternal doom. But praise be to God, He has
chosen the people. He's chosen the people. And those
people He regenerates. We're quickened by the power
of God, made alive in Christ under the preaching of the gospel
of salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. So we
see the lie for what it is. When people say your name, I
even heard people say this. Oh, the moment you're saved,
your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's a lie, too. A believer can say my name was
written in the Lamb's Book of Life from eternity. Now, does
that not make you just sit in awe? It's stunning because we
know what we are. And it's stunning. It's overwhelming
for the believer. It really is. People think that
we get haughty about it. We don't at all. It brings us
right to the dust, beloved. God chose me? A sinner like me? All by his grace and his mercy. All by his grace and his mercy. Oh my. No merit, no merit, no
merit in us. None at all. We are saved by
the grace of God in Christ alone. To God's glory alone. Turn if
you would to 2 Timothy chapter 1. And we see very clearly that
God himself, now think of this as the testator, God himself
has made all the arrangements, beloved. It's like when someone
makes a will, they made all the arrangements for those who are
going to be beneficiaries, haven't they? All the arrangements are
done. Look at this in 2 Timothy 1, verses 7 to 11. For God hath not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but
be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works. And that means anything you can
do in your mind or anything you can do physically. That's what
works there means. It's not just something you do
physically. It means anything in your mind, too, as well. But
according to, look at this, His own purpose and grace. It's all
being arranged, beloved. It's all being arranged. which was given to us in Christ
Jesus, when? Before the world began. That's humble. Oh, but it's wonderful, isn't
it? But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher
and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. God's made all
the arrangements. It's all done. And we as believers
can find great rest in this, can't we? Great rest in Christ. All the arrangements of the New
Covenant were made by God Himself before the world began. Before
the world began. And this was all according to
God's good pleasure, which He had purposed in Himself, according
to the riches of His grace. according to the good pleasure
of His will. And beloved, we had nothing to do with it. Nothing. Nothing to do with it. We're
recipients of mercy and grace. And those who deny this God-honoring
truth are calling God a liar. They're calling God a liar. None
of God's blood-bought saints is elect knew about these precious
truths until we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. We
heard through the preach of the Gospel, the wondrous Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ and how He died for His people. And we
learn of these precious truths as we grow in grace. And they
become precious to us. They become precious to us because
we know we're saved by God's grace alone through Christ alone.
May we who are the redeemed I praise God for these wondrous truths
that God purposed and planned our salvation in Christ in eternity.
It's all been arranged. It's all been arranged in eternity.
Based upon nothing in us and all because of His mercy and
His grace and His everlasting love for us in Christ. Let's
consider our last point now. Let's look at our text again
in Hebrews 9, 16, and 17. For where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of a testator. For a testament
is a force after man are dead, otherwise it is of no strength
at all while the testator liveth. The next point I'd like us to
consider is Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity,
is the executor of the new covenant. In our text, in verse 16, it
proclaims there must also of a necessity be the death of the
testator. He must die. He must die. And let us turn to John chapter
17 and Romans chapter 8, and we'll see that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the executor of the new covenant. Now as executor,
the executor is one who is appointed to carry out the provisions of
the testator, because the testator's dead. So he's there to carry
out the provisions of the testator. One who makes sure that the provisions
of the will of the person who has died are carried out as directed
in the will. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
both the testator and the executor, the one who executes the new
covenant. And we know from John 17, verse
3, we'll read verses 1 to 4, We know, we see here, that Christ
has all power to give eternal life to all that the Father has
given Him. And we know that this is the will of the Father. It's
the will of the Father. Look at this. These words spake
Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee. Remember the provisions in the
new covenant is that Christ would die for a people and that through
him they would receive all spiritual blessings, right? In him. He satisfied God's law and justice
for us. Look at this. As thou has given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou has given him. He gives eternal life to whom
he pleases. But he gives eternal life to those the Father gave
him. In eternity. In eternity. And this is life
eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on
the earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to
do." Jesus Christ is the true and living God. He's Lord of
all, and He works all things after the counsel of His own
will. And God has put all things under the feet of Christ. He
has all power and all authority. Our risen Lord is sovereign. He rules right now. He's sovereign
over heaven. He's sovereign over the earth.
He's a sovereign king. He rules over all things visible
and invisible. And nothing can stop His will
from being accomplished. Nothing can stop His will from
being accomplished. Nothing can thwart His will.
All things are subject to Him. And He does whatever He pleases.
Now think of this. As the executor of the new covenant,
Jesus Christ will make sure that all provisions are carried out,
just as the triune God planned it and purposed it. I ask you,
think of this. Who's going to stop Him from
that happening? No one. No one can thwart Him. No one can stop him from these
provisions being carried out. Can anyone thwart him? No. Can
Satan thwart him? No. Can the fallen angels thwart
him? No. Can any puny human being
thwart him? No. No one can. No one can. He says everything
is under his feet, beloved. Look at Romans chapter 8. Let's
turn there now. Romans chapter 8. He's in full sovereign control
and all things are working for the good of His people and for
His glory. And no one can stop Him. No one. Look at Romans chapter 8. Look
at this. This is wonderful. Romans chapter 8 verses 31 to
34. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? If no one can thwart Him. Think
of that, beloved. If no one can thwart our God.
No one. Who can be against us? Oh, what peace and comfort God's
people can draw here. We go through trials and tribulations,
and we do. We go through some hard times.
But remember, our Lord is ever watching us. He's carrying us
through those things. And who can thwart Him? What
shall we then say to these things? If God before us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him
up for us all. How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? And we have all spiritual blessings
in who? Christ. In Christ alone. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Now, think of that. We're sinners. And sometimes our own hearts
condemn us, don't they? And we grieve over our sin. But
the Scripture declares here, Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Our sins is bought and paid for
by God. It is God that justifies. So the believer can say, I am
justified by God. See, the self-righteous person
seeks to justify themselves by their works. The believer says,
I'm justified by God, in and through Christ alone. He's all
mine. He's everything to me. He's everything
in my salvation. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again. So he died. The testator must die, but he's
risen again. He's risen again. And where is
He? Who is even at the right hand of God who will also make
an intercession for us. So think upon this, beloved of
God. All of God's elect are heirs and joint heirs with Christ and
in Christ. And we have all of God's blessings
in Him. Everything we need, everything that a sinner needs,
To stand in the presence of God, we have in Christ. We have in
Christ. All that a sinner needs is found
in Christ. And that's why we say, look to
Christ. May God give you faith to look
to Him. All of God's blessings are on
Christ. All of God's promises are fulfilled
in Christ. And the blood-bought believer
has a full inheritance. That's why Paul declared we're
complete in Christ. We have a full inheritance. There's
nothing lacking. There's nothing lacking. And
it's reserved in heaven for us, and it's incorruptible. It's
in a place where nothing can touch us, touch our inheritance,
nothing. It's undefiled. And you know
what? It'll never fade away. It'll never fade away. because
it's reserved in heaven for all of God's chosen blood-bought
children in Christ. So is it any wonder, is it any
wonder that the believer can cry out with the hymn writer,
it is well with my soul. It's well, can you say that?
It's well with my soul. Oh, my, what rest and repose
the blood-bought saint of God finds in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
thank thee again for the time that we've had together. We pray
that these precious truths that we looked at tonight, oh, that
we would would think upon them this week, that they would be
honey to our soul. The precious truth that you chose
your people in eternity. based upon absolutely nothing
in us. We have no merit, Lord. No merit in ourselves. All our
merit comes from Thee. We look to Thee, Lord Jesus,
You who are our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and our God. Oh, may
we leave here praising Your name. In Jesus' name we pray.