Let's turn in our Bibles to Hebrews
chapter 3. Verse 1 says, wherefore, hold
on one second brethren, I've got to get my hearing aids adjusted. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of
our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that
appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, And
as much as he who hath built the house hath more honor than
the house. For every house is built by some
man, but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was
faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a
son over his own house, whose house are we if we hold fast
the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Now in John 9, the Pharisees
rejected the man who had been born blind, who Christ had given
sight. They said, you're his disciple. You're Christ's disciple. We
are Moses' disciples. We're Moses' disciples. What
they meant by that is we're going to come to God by our obedience
to the law. We're going to come to God by
our obedience. Our obedience. We're doers of the word. We're
doers of the word. We're coming to God by our obedience. They boasted to be disciples
of Moses, but they rejected the one who made Moses righteous,
the Lord Jesus. They rejected the one who Moses
believed on and who saved Moses, the Lord Jesus. Here he declares
Christ is superior to Moses. He tells us in verse 1, speaking
to holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, those who
have been called by Christ. He says, consider the apostle
and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. He is the apostle
of our profession. He is the preacher. He is the
prophet. come from God, sent of God, who
is the messenger of the covenant. He was sent by God to preach
the gospel of redemption that He Himself accomplished. That's
what He came to declare, to set up the gospel in the world, to
make it clear He is the Redeemer. And He was the Apostle who called
out His first disciples from the days of Adam all the way
to now. He's been calling out His people.
He's the Apostle. And He's the High Priest of our
profession. He's entered into the holiest
by His own blood. He's the High Priest. He's the
great High Priest who all the Old Testament High Priests typified. He lives there, ever lives there
to intercede for His people. Verse 2, He says, He was faithful
to Him that appointed Him. As also Moses was faithful in
all his house. He is not saying Moses was not
faithful. He was. Indeed, Moses was faithful
in all his house, but the Lord Jesus is the faithful one. The Lord Jesus is Him who is
worthy of more honor than Moses. Throughout this letter, He was
showing us the superiority of Christ over all. He began saying He is superior
to all the prophets. He said, God who at sundry times
in different manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets. But He says He has in these last
days spoken to us by His Son. And He is saying He is superior
to all the prophets. Then he went on and he said,
He's superior, Christ is superior to all the angels. To all the
angels. To all the angels. He's the brightness
of God's glory. He's the heir of all things.
He's the one by whom He made the worlds. He's the express
image of God's person. He upholds all things by the
word of His power. And He by Himself purged our
sin. And when He finished, He sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. And so he is
greater than all the angels. By being so much better than
the angels, hath he by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they. The Lord never said to any of
the angels, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
The Lord never said to the angels, I will be to him a father and
he shall be to me a son. He is above all. He is superior
to the prophets. He is superior to the angels.
And he is telling us here now, and he is superior to Moses. He's superior to Moses. Now Moses,
he was a part of the house, but Christ is the builder of the
house. That's why he's superior. Look
here in verse 3. For this man, Christ Jesus, was
counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who
hath built the house hath more honor than the house. For every
house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. You know, the one who builds
a house, he has more honor than the house. Whoever is the builder
of the house, he has more honor than the house. Well, Christ
is the builder. He's the builder. He's the builder
of all things. Moses was part of the house.
He was part of the house. A sinner that's saved by grace.
That's what Moses was, a sinner that's saved by grace. Just like
all those God saves, he was a sinner saved by grace, like all the
rest of those God saves. He was a part of the house. But
Christ is the builder of the house. Christ is God. He's the
builder of all things. He's God. He's the builder of
all things. He's the architect and builder of all things. John
told us in John 1.3, all things were made by Him and without
Him was not anything made that was made. He made everything.
And we're told in Colossians 1, let's go over there and look.
Here's exactly what the Hebrew writer is telling us. Look here
in Colossians 1, verse 16, he says, by Him, by Christ, were
all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist, and He is the head of the body, the Church, who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all He
might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father, that
in him should all fullness dwell, and have him make peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself. By him I say whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven." So Christ Jesus has
reconciled all his people by his blood. He's the head of the
church, the first begotten from the dead, the creator of all
things. He's the builder. And why is this? That he might
have preeminence in all his people, Because it pleased the Father
that in Him should all the fullness dwell. All fullness. God in His Son purposed and designed
the house. He designed the whole house in
His purpose, in His Son, and He sent Christ to build it. He
sent the Lord Jesus to build it. The whole house is of God. He created the first heaven and
earth because He is the creator of the new heaven and earth.
And he builds the whole house of God, the whole church of God.
Moses was a part of that house, but Christ is the builder. When
he chose his people in Christ, he entrusted the whole work into
Christ's hand. And the Spirit of God comes and
regenerates us and makes us living stones in that house and teaches
us all of this. The house is built on this one
foundation, the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ by His
obedience unto the death of the cross, perfecting forever His
people. That's the builder of the house,
the Lord Jesus. He came forth and He fulfilled
everything Moses wrote. Moses wrote the first five books
of the Bible. Moses led the children of Israel. That's what he did. He led them
and he wrote down the things God gave him to write. But Moses
could never give anything spiritual to any of the children of Israel.
He could not create life in anybody. He could not sustain life. He
could not do anything for any of the children of Israel. That
was by Christ alone. Christ is the life who raises
us up from the dead and creates a new nature within His people.
He said in 1 Peter 2.5, you are living stones. living stones,
built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. That's what
the old tabernacle picture, that's what the old temple typified
was Christ building up his house his temple, of his people, living
stones, making us, that's what the priesthood picture, he's
the high priest, he makes his people a holy priesthood. And
all those sacrifices they offered on the footing of that silver
shekel of the sanctuary, redemption accomplished, and all the offerings
we offer to God are on that one foundation, the redemption blood
of Christ Jesus the Lord by whom we've been perfected. So that
all the sacrifices, The praises of our lips, the cares of our
lips come up to God perfect by the blood of Jesus Christ. In
Christ all the building is fitly framed together. When he framed
that temple, no hammers were on it, no chisels were on it.
It can't be by the work of man's hand. They did that somewhere
else and brought it to the temple and wedged them down in there,
rubbed them down in there, so they had to rub stone against
stone. And He fitly frames His people
together. So we are rubbed the wrong way
a lot of times. And He keeps rubbing all of our
rough edges off, fitly framing us together in Him. And we grow
up into Him, a holy temple in the Lord, holy in Him, in whom
also you are built together for habitation of God through the
Spirit." So Christ is worthy of more glory than Moses because
Moses was a part of the building. He was a stone in the building.
Christ is the builder. And then secondly, Moses was
a servant. He was faithful as a servant.
But Christ as a son. As a son. Look here in verse
5. Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant
for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.
But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we? Moses was a servant, a faithful
servant, but Christ is the son and he's over the whole house. You know, when a father, the
father is the one who owns all, And he makes his firstborn son
the heir of all. And that firstborn is Christ.
And so he sent his firstborn son the heir of all things. And
it's by him that Christ came forth and was faithful as a son
over his whole house, over all the elect of God. Moses was called
of God and God made Moses a faithful servant to give a testimony of
Christ. The only thing Moses spoke about
was Christ. That's all he wrote about. Moses
was used of God for a testimony, a witness of things to be spoken
after. But Christ is the substance of
everything Moses wrote about. Christ is the express image of
all the shadows and types and pictures that Moses bore testimony
to. Christ said, Moses wrote of me.
Our Lord on the road to Emmaus beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself." Don't you know that was a message to hear?
Everything in the scriptures speak of Christ from beginning
to end. And he expounded all things to
them concerning himself. With the Lord Jesus Christ, Moses
was faithful, he was a servant, he bore testimony of the Lord. Even in every way He did, but
Christ, He did it as a servant. Moses did it as a servant, but
Christ as a Son, as the only begotten Son over the whole house,
whose house all is redeemed are. Now, that's what our Father spoke
from heaven when He said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm
well pleased, hear ye Him, hear ye Him. That's the Word of the
Father. Hear Christ. Hear Him. Look to Him. Trust Him. Believe
on Him. Trust Him. That's the Word. That's
the Word of the Father, is it not? Why? It pleased the Father
that all fullness dwell in Him. It pleased the Father that Christ
have all the preeminence. Moses and the Law has to be used
lawfully. The law of Sinai was given to
shut our mouths, to declare us guilty. The law was given to
show us something of the great transgression that we all committed
in Adam in the garden. We'd already broke the law when
God gave it. The law was given to show us
how badly we transgressed against God in the garden. We were worshippers
of idols. We were adulterers. We weren't
serving God. No matter how religious we might
have been, no matter what form of religion we might have had,
we weren't serving God. We were idolaters. But the Lord
Jesus Christ came and spoke into the heart of His people and made
you hear that law say, you are, it's not just that you've sinned
and committed some bad things, you are sin. That's what you
are. That's what He says to me and
you. We are the sin. That's what we are. Our nature
is sin. And we've got to be created entirely
anew. We can't just be remolded. We've got to be created anew
in Christ. And it's got to be all of Christ,
entirely of Christ. Christ alone being the righteousness
by which we're justified and accepted of God. Christ alone! All Moses' writings, including the
ceremonies of the law, spoke as a testimony to Christ who
fulfilled the righteousness of the law for his people. Everything
he wrote. Christ is our Lamb. Moses wrote
about Christ the Lamb in Genesis when he wrote about how God came
and took an innocent lamb and slew that lamb. The first blood
shed in the history of the world was because Adam sinned against
God and plunged the whole race into sin. And that blood was
shed in the place of Adam and Eve to satisfy in type, to satisfy
justice for them and to cover their nakedness. Who was Moses
writing about? I mean, as soon as we fell, who
did he write about? He wrote about Christ. Substitute. Abel's Lamb. Same thing. Abel's
Lamb. Moses wrote about Christ when
he wrote of the ark in which Noah and his family were saved.
That ark is Christ. And that rain of that flood that
came upon the ark is the justice of God coming upon God's people.
That's what it pictured. And we're in Christ. His people
were in Christ and saved from that flood by the blood of our
Lord Jesus. The atonement He made. He wrote
about Moses. You think about this. I mean,
he wrote about Christ. Moses recorded his own failure. Why? As a testimony to Christ. To speak of Christ. Moses got
angry and he smoked the rock twice. And he wrote it. He recorded it, didn't he? Why?
Because the Lord teaches Christ can't be smitten twice. Christ
satisfied justice. He can't be smitten twice. He
satisfied the law for his people. And the Lord made Moses a prophet. He used Moses to pin how Moses
could not enter the promised land, how Moses would die and
be buried. And Moses wrote all of that.
The first five books of the Bible. He wrote about his own death
and his own burial. Did God save Moses? Absolutely
He saved Moses. What's He showing us? He's showing
us that the law of God cannot take you into the promised land.
The law of God can't bring one child into the promised land.
If we're trusting our works of the law or anything we've done,
we can't enter the promised land. That's too much baggage we're
bringing to come in through that little narrow door to Christ
the Lord. We've got to come in Him only. But who carried him
into the promised land? Joshua carried him in there.
Jesus. Savior. That's who carried them
in. Christ has got to carry us into the promised land the entire
way. Everything Moses is writing,
he's writing about the Lord Jesus Christ. All the temple, all the
tabernacle, but the high priest. This is what he said. Consider,
he's the apostle. Moses was, he was the prophet,
but Christ is the apostle. He is the high priest. That's what the whole of this
Hebrew letter is showing us. How everything in that Mosaic
Law, everything in those shadows and types, all were pointing
us to the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is our Great High Priest.
Our Great High Priest. He didn't come with the blood
of a bull and a goat. He came by His own blood. He
entered in by His own blood into the Holy Place. He's the High
Priest and the Lamb. He came and laid down His life
in place of His people and He entered in the Holy Place with
His own blood, having perfected forever them that are sanctified.
That's what He did. Look over at Luke 24. I'm not preaching anything anywhere
like what our Savior did, but I guarantee you these are the
things our Savior was saying to the children of Israel and
to those on the road to Emmaus. Luke 24 verse 44. He said to them, ìThese are the
words which I have spoken to you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law
of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me.î Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures. And He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus
it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day, and that repentance and remissions of sin should
be preached in His name." In other words, that His name might
be declared among all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. 1 Peter,
look over there, 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1, 9. Peter spoke of receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Now
watch this, verse 10. Of which salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently. I have that salvation, a capital
S, because that's who they were writing about. And they were
inquiring and searching diligently, who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should
follow." That's what they were all writing about. We just got
to have the spiritual eyes to behold that everything in the
Old Testament is Christ. It's big enough Christ to come.
The New Testament is saying He came. And He's declaring to us
He's coming again. Christ is the Son over His own
house. Whose house are we? Go over to
Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. He's a son over his own house. God sent His own Son. He sent
His own Son. That's His heir. He sent His
own Son to work out everything so that He's the heir and He
was going to make all His people to be joint heirs with Him of
all the free bounty of God our Father. Romans 8.19 says, I'm
sorry, Romans 8 verse 28. It says, We
know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose. Now here's what
he's talking about. Here's all the things he's talking
about and it includes everything. Listen to this. For whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that His Son might be the firstborn Son among many
brethren. He's the Elder Brother. He's
our Elder Brother. Christ is. He's God. He's our everlasting Father.
He's the Prince of Peace. His name's wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God. He's also our Elder Brother.
He's the last Adam. He'll always be our everlasting
Father. And he's our elder brother. And
he says here, He might be the firstborn among many brethren,
moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called. Whom He
called, them He also justified. Whom He justified, them He also
glorified. What shall we say then of these
things? If God be for 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 these things He's talking
about right here? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who's
he that condemns? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
it's risen again and is even at the right hand of God who
makes intercession for it. He did all of that that he might
be the son, the firstborn son, and the son over his own house.
it pleased the Father to glorify His firstborn son. And so back
there in Hebrews, Hebrews in chapter 2 verse 11, It says, verse 10 says, It became
him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through suffering. So Christ came down, made lower
than the angels. The Son came down, took flesh,
lower than the angels, for both He that sanctified and they who
are sanctified are all of one. For which cause He is not ashamed
to call them brethren. son over his own house, with
his brethren, saying, I'll declare thy name unto my brethren in
the midst of the church while I sing praise to thee. And again,
I'll put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the
children which God hath given me. Now did he come down here
and take the seed of Adam? He tells us here, He came down
and took the seed of Abraham. What does that mean? He came
down, made like unto His elect brethren, the true seed of Abraham.
He might save the true seed of Abraham. This notion that Christ
died for everybody in the world and is trying to save everybody
in the world, there's just some sense in which He died for everybody,
is a lie. He didn't. Christ died for His
sheep. He died for His elect. And here's
why that's important. He didn't fail. He didn't make
salvation possible. He didn't bring in the possibility
that you can be redeemed. He came and accomplished the
work. He has to do it. He has to get
the glory for it. And He did. He does and He shall. Now, lastly, if we are of Christ's
house, And we've been brought to believe on Christ. Here's
how it's going to be proven. We're going to believe on Him
to the end. He says, verse 6, Christ has a Son over His own
house. Whose house are we if we hold
fast to confidence? Who's our confidence? It's Christ. and the rejoicing of the hope.
What's the rejoicing? It's Christ. What's the hope?
He's coming again, and he's going to carry us home, and he's going
to perfectly conform us to him in body, soul, and spirit, in
and out, we're going to be made in the very likeness of him. That's what we're waiting on,
the hope of righteousness. He's already brought in everlasting
righteousness. He made us the righteousness
of God in Him. But one day we're going to enter
in with no sin and be made perfect in His presence. And he says,
if we hold fast Christ our confidence and Christ the rejoicing of the
hope firm unto the end, that's the only way it's going to be
proven He was really called to Him. Really called to Him. And
that's what all His people are going to do. His people are the
spiritual house of Christ, the spiritual house of God's own
Son, made up of His people, chosen, redeemed, and called believers. That's His house. Spiritual family of God. And
He dwells in each believer in spirit so that we're kept by
Him. We're of his house and it's going to be proven because everyone
that's of his house, they're going to be holding fast his
confidence all the way to the end. Christ only. Christ only. See, why was he writing this
to them? The number one problem you and
I have is our thinking we can turn from Christ and save ourselves
or add something or anything else. the number one problem. Number one, Christ dealt with
the Pharisees stronger than anybody else. It's not sin that's going
to keep you from Christ. Sin, when made to see it by Christ,
will break your heart and you'll come to Christ. It's our self-righteousness
that's going to keep us from Christ and make you turn back
to the letter of the law, turn back to the works of your flesh,
and put those between the sinner and Christ. That's what will
turn us aside. And the Lord Jesus is giving
the Scripture, giving this Hebrew letter right here to tell all
His people, don't turn from looking to Me. There's one door, there's
one shepherd, there's one righteousness. He is all, brethren. Is He all? Is Christ all? Is He the head
of His house? Is He able to quicken His sheep
and call His sheep out of darkness? Is He able to chasten those that
are His of His own house and keep them? Is He able? Does He have to chasten us and
quicken us and turn us? We don't need to be turned anymore
after we're called once. From then on, we're good. We're
just straight as air. No, that's not so. He is able. He's the head. And He's able.
He's able. Oh, let us be fearful of looking
upon one that is really His as not being His. We're going to
come out the loser. We'll come out the loser. God's
people aren't looking for vengeance on brethren when they fall and
they stumble and they turn away or turn aside. Let me tell you
how to look at vengeance. How to look at this thing of,
Lord, work your will upon my enemies. You know, people hear
that and they hear it with a spirit of vindication. I want to be
vindicated and I want vengeance on my enemies. Okay, let's look
at it this way. Your children who don't believe,
they're your enemies. You want vengeance on them? You
want God to pour out vengeance on them? You want Him to save
them, don't you? That's the spirit we have towards
any, whether it's an outright enemy that's never professed
Him or it's somebody who's professed Him and has turned aside. That's the heart. It's the heart
of love. It's the heart of wanting to see God's will in bringing
them to Christ's feet. And we trust Him to do it. We
trust Him to do it. And when he's done it, and worked
them, and brought them to his feet, and broke their heart,
we trust he's done it. Trust he's done it. So that's
what he said, and he's going to work this work all the way
to the end. Unbelief is going to shut us
out from the mercies of Christ. Unbelief is going to cause men
and women to depart from depending upon Christ and having their
confidence in Christ alone. Unbelief is going to close the
door of prayer. Unbelief is going to turn us
from the true and living God to the God of reason and logic
and all the other idols that there are in this world and we'll
fall away. They couldn't enter into the
promised land. Why? They didn't believe on Christ.
They didn't rest in Christ. That's the only reason. Look
at Hebrews 3.14, we are made partakers of Christ, here is
the proof of it, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast
until the end. He says in Hebrews 4.14, he says,
seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. He says in Hebrews 6.11, We desire
that every one of you to show the same diligence to the full
assurance of hope until the end. Hebrews 10.23, he says, let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised. And he says in Hebrews 10 and
verse 35, cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great
recompense of reward. We have need of patience. After
you've done the will of God, that you might receive the promise.
Believe on His Son. Persevere in His Son. Trust His
Son. And cast not away this confidence
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to Him. Walk after Him. Follow Him. Whatever is other
than Christ, whatever is extra, whatever we have to turn from,
Whether, no matter how good it appears, no matter how wicked
it is, whatever it is you have to turn from, if it's other than
Christ and it's going to turn you from Christ and separate
you from Christ, turn from that to Christ and lay hold of Him
and don't let go of Him. And I'll tell you how we're going
to do that. He's not going to let go of His people. He's going
to bring them all to the Father and not lose one. That's certain. Alright. Our Great Father, our
Heavenly, Holy God, we thank You that You sent Your Son, the
Apostle, the author and finisher of our faith, the great high
priest of our profession. Lord, keep us looking to You,
keep us trusting You, keep us walking after You. Keep our eyes
set on Christ. Lord, we ask You to Hedge us about. We ask you to
strengthen us inwardly. Be our strength. Be our guide. Be our light. Be our lamp. Be our righteousness. Be our
holiness. Be our redemption. Be our wisdom.
Be our shield. Be our reward. Be our all, Lord. Please save
us from us. We each here individually are
the problem. We each individually here have
to be saved from ourselves, Lord. Please save us from us. Keep
us. Save us by your grace in spite
of us. Bring us to you. For your glory's
sake, your honor's sake, we ask you. Amen.