Alright, now let's go back there
to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. Now the mystery of God from the
beginning is there in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 10. This
is the mystery of God in Christ from eternity. Verse 10 says
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather
together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in Him. Now, our text tonight
is going to be an overview of chapter 1, verses 15, down through
chapter 2, a few verses into chapter 2. And we'll just take
a few sections at a time here. Verse 15, Paul says, Wherefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord, in the Lord
Jesus, in love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for
you, making mention of you in my prayers." You see, these were
believers. They had been born of the Spirit
of God, given faith in Christ, given a heart to love their brethren. And Paul said, I make mention
of you in my prayers. And here's what he prayed for,
verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation
in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened. He wanted to see them get more
spiritual understanding, more spiritual sight, more of a spiritual
revelation given to them by God. Now, that's my sincere desire
and prayer to God for us here, for all of us, that we would
be given more of an understanding. And He tells us where this is
going to come from. Verse 17, He says there, By Him
giving us a greater knowledge of Him, of Him. This is where
this understanding and revelation comes from. Then in verse 18,
He tells us why. That you may know what is the
hope of His calling. Know it more. Be more acquainted
with this sure hope of His calling. And what the riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints. To know what the riches of His
glory is. And He says in verse 19, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe
according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at
His own right hand in heavenly places. I want to know more of
Christ and I want to know more of the power of His resurrection.
That's what we want to know. I want to know more of Him and
the power of His resurrection. Well, what God the Father did
for Christ Jesus when He raised Him from the dead, God did for
those He put in Christ. We're the beneficiaries of it.
What He did for Christ, He did for us. Christ is doing now,
what He's doing now, He's doing it for those that He redeemed
by His blood. And this is what's going to help
us, as he said there, to know the hope of His calling and the
riches of His glory and the inheritance of the saints. Later, he says,
this is what's going to help us to be filled with all the
fullness of God, to be strengthened by His Spirit and inner man,
to know the love of God that passes knowledge, that fullness,
be filled with that fullness of Him. And he said, and it'll
be by Him. that's able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think according to the power that He works in
us. That's what He said, according
to the power that He works in us. Alright, now let's look first
of all here at the power of Christ's resurrection. Let's think about
it. The power of Christ's resurrection. Look at verse 19. This exceeding
greatness of His power to us who believe is according to,
it's the same as, the working of His mighty power which He
brought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him
at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Now this power
is greater than just sheer power. It's greater than just his creation
power, that he spoke the heavens and the earth into existence.
It's greater than that. This power is the power of his
glory and the power of his honor, the power of his grace. That's
what this power, the power of his glory. and His grace. Whenever He resurrected Christ
from the dead, this is a power that's even more greater than
that first creation when He created the heavens and the earth. This
is something greater than that power because this power is attached
to His glory. This type of power is attached
to His honor, to God's glory and His honor. This is the power
by which Christ reigns as the God-man mediator. It's the power
that Christ is going to execute in causing His people to come
under the sound of the gospel. This is the power that Christ
is going to manifest in His people when He makes us willing in the
day of His power. This is the power He manifests
whenever He gives us new life and we're born of Him and recreated
new in His image. This is that kind of power. The
same power as when He raised Christ from the dead. It's the
power of Him keeping us and preserving us and working in us both the
will and the do of His good pleasure. This is the power that's going
to culminate and it's going to end in a new heavens and a new
earth coming down out of Jerusalem, adorned as a bride for her husband,
wherein everything that dwells in that new creation will be
the creation of God through Christ Jesus. It'll be the creation,
a new creation, a new heavens and a new earth. So we're talking
about a power even greater than the creation of this heaven and
this earth right here. Now, in exceeding great power,
God highly exalted Christ and has given Him all glory and all
power as the mediator of His people because Christ highly
exalted God the Father. Now, for God, His Father, and
for His people, Christ Jesus willingly abased Himself to the
very least. That's what He did, to the very
least, even the death of the cross, and after that, the grave. Christ, God the Son, became a
man, and He became a man, and He willingly did that, and He
joined His divine nature in one body with the nature of His elect
children that He came to save. And he was made of a woman, as
the psalmist said, in the lowest parts of the earth, in the womb. He condescended and came down.
And then he came down when he was made under the law. He came
down under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
And then He came down taking all the sin of all the elect
over all time upon Himself, willingly made the sin of His people. And
then Christ came down by going to that cross and bearing the
punishment our punishment, the punishment his people deserved.
He took our place and went there. And with the sin of his people
imputed to him, he received the just wages of sin and suffered
under the hand of justice. And then after he had put away
all our sins, he went down further. He went down into the grave.
So Christ went down as far as one can go. He condescended and
made himself the least. There's nobody ever that's done
what He did. Nobody's ever condescended to
go that low as Christ Jesus went. It was the ultimate act of obedience
to God, and it was the ultimate act of depths of love for those
that He everlastingly loved. This is what Christ did. But
this ultimate depth that Christ went into, by that, He exalted
God to the heights of what He did. Because what He did in Christ,
the righteousness of God is revealed. It's manifest. God is just to save His people. And God is Himself. He has justified
His people Himself. In Christ is the manifestation
of the holiness of God. The holiness, His holy justice,
His holy love, His holy mercy, His holy faithfulness, His holy
salvation. It's all manifest right there
in Christ. So everything God is and everything
God has to say and has for His people, is all wrapped up, it
all manifests in this one Christ Jesus and in this work that He
accomplished Himself in this ultimate stooping to the ultimate
lowest low that one could go. But when He did that, He highly
exalted God and therefore God's highly exalted Him. Philippians
2.9 says, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and
given him a name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things
in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. His glory is attached to this.
The power of His glory is what we're talking about. So by raising
Christ from the dead to His own right hand, God the Father manifested
His power and His grace and His glory And He manifested His grace
and His faithfulness to His Son. He said by raising Him that He's
satisfied with His Son. He said by raising Him that His
Son's justified. That His Son has put away sin
completely. and that His Son is the perfection
of righteousness, and obedience, and faithfulness, and that He
is the fulfillment of the covenant for His people. That's who Christ
is. And God declared it when He raised
Him up and He set Him at His own right hand. He's declaring
that He manifests the perfection of God, all the attributes of
God. He manifests them in what He did. God's well pleased in
it. And so when He raised Him up,
He declared that He is God the Son with power. He declared Him to be the Son
of God with power. All the time He walked this earth,
He kept saying who He was. He declared He was the Son of
God. And men despised Him and rejected Him. And then finally,
with wicked hands, took Him and did exactly what God had purposed
beforehand to be done and crucified Him. And men today are despising
and rejecting Him, but by God raising Him from the dead, God
declared it as fully as it can be declared, that He is exactly
who He declared He was. who He is, He's the Son of God
with power. The prophets told this. All through
the scriptures have been talking about these days right here.
These days, these last days. Psalm 110.1 said, The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit there on my right hand till I make thine
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength, thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst
of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the
womb of the morning." That morning that dawned, that whole new day
that dawned when Christ raised from the dead and sat down at
the right hand of the Father. That new day of grace. thou hast
to do of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn and will
not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek." This is what the Father said when
He raised Him from the dead. And note who it is that He raised
from the dead. When God the Son came down, that's
God the Son. But when He ascended back to
the Father, He went back with His divine nature in union with
His glorified human nature. There is seated in glory right
now the glorified God-man. And that God-man, that mediator,
is Him to whom God gave all power in heaven and earth. He gave
Him all power. Look at verse 21. Far far, it would be enough just
to say above in all these things he's going to list, but he said
far above all principality and power, far above might and dominion
and every name that is named. And then he says, not only in
this world, but also in that which is to come. There's two
worlds, this one and that one which is to come. And He's put
all things under His feet. All power over all things belongs
to God our Savior, Christ Jesus. Right now, the God-man mediator,
the prophet, priest, and king of His people is reigning over
all. That's what He's doing right
now. When He went to the cross and He accomplished that work
on the cross, He bruised Satan's head. His heel was bruised, but
He bruised Satan's head just like He said He would in Genesis
3.15. And He's bound that strong man. He's bound. He is bound. And Christ is spoiling the strong
man's house. Christ has led the captivity
of His people captive. He has set the lawful captives
free by what He did. And now Colossians 2.15 says,
having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in what He did, in what
He accomplished. Now, by the greatness of His
power, Christ God has raised Him and highly exalted Him and
given Him all this power. By the greatness of His power
that He has, do you see how sure the hope of our calling is? Do
you see why the hope of our calling is so sure? He has all power. This one who's our Redeemer has
all power. It's Christ Himself who was speaking
through God the Holy Spirit when He commanded the Apostle Paul
to say, in all these things, we're more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. It's Christ that's telling him
this. through the Spirit that's commanding him to speak and say,
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He's
above all power. Alright, look at what it says
next about him. God gave Christ to be the head of the church.
Look at verse 22. It says, and gave Him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness
of Him, Him that filleth all in all." Now, God gave Christ
to be the head over all things to the church. Now, that's the
gift of God to Christ the Mediator. That's His gift to Him. That's
God the Father glorifying Him. That's God the Father saying,
I'm well pleased. I'll tell you what, it's God
being pleased that His Son have preeminence in all things. That's what it is. And what a
gift that is to us. Isn't that a gift to us? He who
loved us and gave Himself for us is head over all things to
us. to overrule everything for our
good, to whatever it please God to do, however it please God
to save us, He has power over all things as the head of His
people to accomplish it, to accomplish it. Whatever we need, Christ
has all power over all things to provide it. That's who He
is. That's God's gift to Him for
what He did for His people. Do you see the riches of the
inheritance in the saints? The riches. The church has all
riches provided for us in Christ. He has everything, all abundance,
all power. He's the head over all things
to us, His people. And then look what it says. The
church is Christ's body. The church is Christ's body,
the fullness of Him. Now over in Colossians, he said,
you are complete in Him. That means, he said, He's the
fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him.
The word fullness and the word complete are the same word. It
means you have all fullness in Him. And here, he says, the church
is the fullness of Him. Now what that tells us, brethren,
is He said there, and the mystery is this, in the fullness of times,
He's going to gather together in one all things in Christ,
which are in heaven and earth, everything in Him. He's so one
with His people, and His people are so one with Him, that all
our fullness is Him, and all His fullness is us. Now that's
oneness. That's what He is. That's who
He is. That's who Christ is. So that
means he will not lose one because then his body is not complete. And this is the power and glory
of God's, the power of God's glory and his honor that we're
talking about here. That's why this power was given
to him. And then look what it says about
him in verse 23. And this is he that filleth all
in all. Now he fulfilled all things as
far as his work of redemption was concerned when he walked
this earth. When he went to the cross, all things having now
been accomplished. He said, I thirst. And then after
he received the vinegar, he cried with a loud voice and said, it
is finished. And he gave up the ghost. But
now he's doing something now from his throne in glory. He
is filling all of his children. He's filling all in all. That's what He is doing. That's
what Christ is doing. The Scriptures tell us without
faith, it's impossible to please God. Where are we going to get
it? He has power over all things,
to fill all in all. We get it from Him, through the
Holy Spirit, through the, without, not separate from God the Father,
but this power and glory has been given to Christ. The Scripture
says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. He
says, but how shall they hear without a preacher? And how are
they going to preach except they be sent? How beautiful are the
feet of them that bring this gospel of glad tidings. You know
what Isaiah 52.6 said about that? We could look at Ephesians 4
where he said when he ascended he led captivity captive and
he gave gifts unto men. that he might do this work of
filling all in all. But Isaiah 52.6, he said, therefore,
he said, I'm tired of this people making, this people that's been
ruling over them up to this time, all of the false prophets and
the false priests and the false kings in his nation. He said,
they made my people to howl. And he said, now I've come. And
he said, therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore
they shall know in that day. that I am He that doth speak. Behold, it is I. How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of Him. Him, Christ, that brings
good tidings, that publishes peace, that brings good tidings
of good, that publishes salvation, that says undesigned, Thy God
reigneth! That's what He's doing. That's
who He is. That's what He's doing. Filling
all things. Now under the Old Covenant, the
Lord made a model for us to see, an earthly model for us to see,
a shadow and a type of how Christ is the spiritual reality, the
spiritual fullness of being the head over all things to his church. There was a earthly political
Israel. Now, during the time of the Old
Covenant, that one nation was the earthly head of all nations. That one nation had the head
over all nations. God divided the bounds of the
people according to the children of Israel. They were the head,
and He said, and you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests
and holy nation. Kingdom, kings, of priests, priesthood,
a holy nation. But now, the reality has come. The nation that Christ our Head
has set over all other nations in the earth, is His spiritual
nation. Look down at Ephesians 2.19.
Look down there. Ephesians 2.19. Now therefore,
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens. That's what you are of a kingdom.
That's what you are of a city. Fellow citizens. With the saints. He doesn't say fellow citizens
with Israel or fellow citizens with the Jews or with the Gentiles.
He says fellow citizens with the saints. With the saints. Look over Philippians 3.20. Philippians
3.20. You're familiar with this passage. In verse 18, he says, many walk
of whom I've told you often and now tell you even weeping, they're
the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose
God is their belly, earthy things, whose glory is in their shame,
who mine earthly things. You know, a whole host of people
thought that everything written in the prophets, in the Law of
the Prophets, meant that when Christ came, He was going to
establish an earthly kingdom with an earthly kingdom and an
earthly priesthood and all those things. And they would have followed
Him. They tried to take Him by force
and make Him a king. And He departed from them. He
departed from them. But watch this. He says, our
conversation, that word is citizenship. That's what it means. Our citizenship
is in heaven. From whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
to himself. He has that power. Well, in political
Israel, there were earthly prophets, priests, and kings. Stay with
me now, you with me? In earthly Israel, there was
prophet, priests, and kings who were the heads over that nation.
Examples, we had Moses. Moses was a prophet. You had
Aaron. Aaron was a high priest. You
had David. David was a king. They were all
types of Christ, all of them. Now Christ is that one head. He's that one head holding all
three offices. Whither the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus, made in high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek, the king priest. That's who He was.
This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world.
That's who he is. There was an earthly temple. Now you get the
picture now. I'm telling you about the power
of Christ's resurrection. Now here down below in the earthly
model that he made, here you had an earthly nation, And they went up to these earthly
priests and these earthly king and these earthly prophets. And
then you had this earthly temple. This earthly temple. It was the
head of worship. The head of worship. It was the
house that the children of Israel flowed unto from all parts of
the earth to worship God. That temple. But you remember Christ said,
they stood there marveling at the temple, looking at it. Christ
said, there's not going to be a stone left of this temple. I'm going to destroy it all.
I'm going to knock it off the face of the map. And in 70 A.D.
He did. You know what remains now? Look
down at Ephesians 2.20. Now there remains the household
of God. And Christ is the sanctuary and
His people, His tabernacle. Miss this, you're going to miss
Him. You're going to miss Him if you miss this now. This is
so vitally important. Ephesians 2.20. Of the household
of God. That's who we are, and built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. This is a spiritual foundation
and a spiritual house. In whom, look at this, in him
all the building is fitly framed together and groweth unto a holy
temple in the Lord, in him. Now watch this, in whom ye also
are builted together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. So
you got us, and he's our sanctuary we're in, and he's tabernacling
in his people, and his whole building is fitly framed together
for that purpose. This is his church, this is his
people. I'll look at Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37. He promised in Ezekiel 11. He said, Thus
saith the Lord God, Although I have cast them far off among
the heathen, although I have scattered them among the countries,
yet I will be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where
they shall come. Isaiah 8.14 said he should be
for a sanctuary. But for some, he's going to be
a stone of stumbling. Because they stumbled at him
being the sanctuary. They wanted that earthly temple,
that earthly kingdom, that earthly priesthood. Earthy, earthy, earthy,
earthy! You know what else they wanted?
They wanted to come to God by the works of their own hands.
And there's where the truth of the matter lies. There's where
the heart of the problem is. Alright, look here, Ezekiel 37,
26. He promised that after those
days His tabernacle will be in His people. Look at Ezekiel 37,
26. Moreover, I will make a covenant
of peace with them. This is a heart matter. This
is a heart matter. I'll make a covenant of peace
with them and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.
And I will place them I'm gonna place them, he said, and multiply
them and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them. That's what he said, I'm gonna
put my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. This thing never gonna cease
being. Verse 27, look, my tabernacle
also shall be with them. Now note this, yea, I will be
their God and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall
know that I, the Lord, do sanctify Israel. They're going to know
I separated them. I made them holy. When my sanctuary
shall be in the midst of them forevermore. What's he talking
about? How could I be sanctified by
Him building a temple of sticks and stones for me to meet in
and worship in over there in the land of Israel? How's that
going to make me sanctified in my heart? How's that going to
make a covenant of peace in my heart, an everlasting covenant
of peace in my heart? It ain't. It ain't. But look here, look at 2 Corinthians
6, 16. But this is what will, when He
enters in by the Spirit of His grace, 2 Corinthians 6.16, through
the Spirit. You saw, I said, note that, I'll
be their God and they'll be my people, they should be my people.
Look at 2 Corinthians 6.16. He says there, What agreement
hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God. You're the temple of the living
God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them
and I will be their God and they shall be my people. You know
what Paul is saying? I tell you, you know what God
the Holy Spirit is saying there? He's saying this is the divine
commentary on Ezekiel 37. My tabernacle of Christ is within
my people. It's in them. It's in them. That's what Ephesians told us
there. We're built together for a habitation
of God through the Spirit. Through the Spirit. Well, under
that old covenant, all this picture was in earthly Jerusalem, in
earthly Mount Zion. Every bit of it was. And that
spot of ground was the head over all the earth. Every bit of it
was. But now, Hebrews 12.18 says,
you're not come to the mount that might be touched, but you're
coming to Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem. That's that city that Abraham,
by faith, sojourned and looked forward to, whose builder and
maker is God. This is His church. This is what
Christ has built. He is the head over all things
to His church in heaven and in earth, His people. Micah 4.1
said, In the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain
of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of
the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and
people shall flow unto it. Now, get the picture here. Turn
over. Be turning to Hebrews. Be turning
to Hebrews. I don't ever want you to... You
see, here's the issue with this. If it was just the sake of, you
know, folks going, well, I think it's this way. Somebody's going,
I think it's this way or whatever. The problem here is we're talking
about this is God's glory. He gave this glory to Christ
as a gift to Christ to do this. And this is what Christ is doing.
This is what He's doing. If you get the picture now, I
said all that was a picture, and there it is, it was all.
When Christ was resurrected to His and the power of that resurrection,
all of that ascended with Him to the throne of God. So that now there you've got
Mount Zion in the top of the mountains, you've got heavenly
Jerusalem, the city of God there. that heavenly Jerusalem. And
then you've got from there issuing out, you've got His Word going
forth out through His Gospel. And you've got Him assembling
His churches, and you've got His temple, and you've got Him
being the prophet, priest, and the King. And then you've got
Him speaking into the hearts of His people through His gospel,
and creating them anew in their heart, and making them new, and
sanctifying them. And He's tabernacling in them,
and they're taking sanctuary in Him. So now you've got all
of this that was a picture showing us this is fulfilled, and He's
the spiritual fulfillment of it. Christ is the fulfillment.
Christ is the glory of it. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. This is what the
whole law and the prophets was declaring all along. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming. And
the gospel is telling us He's come already and He's done it.
Now let's see it in the book of Hebrews. Even the holy angels
and authorities and powers are in subjection to Christ to help
Him to do His bidding in this work of ministering to His saints
in the earth. Peter said He's gone into heaven, He's on the
right hand of God, and angels and authorities and powers are
subject unto Him. Look at Hebrews 1.13. This is
quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures, and this is showing
us all through the book of Hebrews. We went through the book of Hebrews.
The whole book of Hebrews is showing us Christ is the fulfillment
of those types and those shadows. He's the express image of the
things. Look at Hebrews 1.13. To which of the angels said he,
at any time, sit on my right hand and I'll make thine enemies
thy footstool? Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who should be heirs
of salvation? See, even the angels are subject to Him. This is Him
as the God-man. There's a man and the holy angels
are subject to Him. Isn't that wonderful to know?
He knows the feeling of our infirmities. He's touched with them. We can
come to His throne of grace. That temple's open now all the
time. And we can enter right into the
holiest of holies where He is. Alright, look at Hebrews 2 verse
7. This is the fulfillment of Psalm 8. It's a divine commentary
on Psalm 8. It says, Thou madest him a little
lower than the angels, and he came and did the work, and Thou
crownest him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works
of Thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection
under his feet, for in that he put all in subjection under him,
he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not
yet all things put under Him, but we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor." Now turn over to Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7.
Now here's what we're saying. Hebrews 7. I'm just going to
read this to you. Now look, this is the Word of
God. This is not a doctrine of a man. This is not a doctrine
of a church. This is God's Word right here.
We're going to have to take sides with somebody, God or men, but
this is God's Word. Look at this, Hebrews 7.12. Hebrews
7.12. For the priesthood being changed,
there is made of necessity a change also of the law. The old covenant
is done, and it's replaced by that everlasting covenant of
grace and peace for His people. Skip down to verse 18. For there
is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before, for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect. How many times have you heard
me say that? Not anybody was ever made perfect by the law.
Nobody. Nobody. But the bringing in of
a better hope This where the hope of His calling, the bringing
in of a better hope did perfect, by the which we draw nigh unto
God. Now look back up at verse 15.
I put those together so you could see there's a change in the covenant. But look back up at verse 15.
And it's yet far more evident that after the similitude of
Melchizedek, there ariseth another priest. There's a change in the
priesthood too, who's made not after the law of a carnal commandment,
not given on Mount Sinai, but after the power of an endless
life. I said unto him, I swore and
I will not repent. He's a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. That's the power of his resurrection,
brethren. Now down to verse 22. By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. A better covenant. Now look at chapter 8 verse 1.
I'm going to read this whole chapter. Listen to this now.
Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the song. We
have such a high priest. Where do we see he was raised
to? who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
in the heavens. What do we see he is and his
church is to him? A minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched
and not man. Verse 6, But now hath Christ
obtained a more excellent ministry. You see, this is his ministry.
He's filling all things. an excellent ministry by how
much also he's the mediator of a better covenant which was established
upon better promises. We're going to look at that next
week in Genesis 22 and Galatians 3. Verse 8, For finding fault
with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord.
And we're in those days. Keep doing this right now. The
days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." That's right. With the house of Israel and
the house of Judah. Verse 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."
He's telling you, this don't have anything to do with that
earthly covenant. Get your mind out of the earth now. Get it
up above. Seek Christ where He's seated at the right hand of God.
That's what He's saying. Because they continued not in my covenant,
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." There's not one thing,
not one earthly promise that God promised natural Israel and
natural Judah that He did not fulfill. Not one. He fulfilled
them all. I'll show you in Scripture. He
fulfilled every one of them. But these spiritual promises to His
spiritual Israel, to His spiritual Judah, this is the covenant that
I'll make with the house of Israel after those days. These are the
days after those days. He said, This is the covenant
I'll 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. 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. If you look over to
Hebrews 10, he'll tell you over there in Hebrews 10 what he's
saying when he says, I'm going to write it in their hearts.
He says, He says, whereof the Holy Spirit
is a witness unto us. Verse 15, whereof the Holy Ghost
is a witness unto us, for after that He said, this is the covenant
I'll make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I'll put
my laws in their hearts and their minds. I'll write them. Their
sins and iniquities I'll remember no more. This is what He teaches
us. Where remission of sins is. There's no more offering for
sin. We have, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter the holiest
by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath
consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.
And we have a high priest over the house of God. So let us draw
nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water. And let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised."
You see this? Now go back over there to Hebrews
8. Hebrews 8, look there at verse 13, "...in that he saith the
new covenant," now this is past tense, "...he hath made the first
old." Now, Paul said, at that time right now, they were still
trying to hold on to it. At that present time, there was
a remnant in Israel according to the election of grace, and
God was going forth through Peter, calling them out. But they were
still trying to hold on to that old covenant, still trying to
build that which was torn down, which got it torn down. But he
said, but it's not going to be very long that they're going
to be doing that. But he called them out, and he says, now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. And in 78 A.D. when he sent forth
and he wiped them off the map, it vanished away. It's done for
ever. Now Christ is the High Priest. He's the King. He's the Prophet.
Christ is the Sanctuary. Christ sanctifies His people
in the heart through His Spirit by the Gospel. Christ is the
one who writes the everlasting covenant on our hearts. He is
the covenant God has given for the covenant of His people. He
is the sum and substance, the ratifier, mediator, minister
of that covenant. He is the one seated on the throne
of God in Mount Zion in that heavenly Jerusalem to which all
of His people are being drawn right now through these local
assemblies that He's established and set up. You see, all the
glory goes to Christ. This is the power of His resurrection. This is His. He has power over
everything. I was going to show you how He
works that toward us, but we'll do that next time. He has power
over everything. And He brings this Gospel to
us, brethren. And He does it. He does it. And you know who's
going to get the glory? Unto Him be the glory, both now
and forever. Turn one more play. I do want
you to turn one more play. Turn over to 1 Peter. 1 Peter. He took down all the middle wall
of partition by fulfilling the law. And now it's fulfilled. It's done. It's done. Now look
here at 1 Peter 2. He's the minister of the sanctuary,
the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched in that man. 1 Peter
2.4 says, To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed
of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
All the scriptures agree with this. Revelation said He made
us kings and priests unto God. We're raining on the earth right
now, brethren. That's what Peter said, right
now. We're offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also is contained in
the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. I'm not ashamed of him, are you?
unto you therefore which believe he is precious. But unto them
which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallow,
the same is made the head of the corner, a stone of stumbling,
a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But you're a
chosen generation, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a kingly
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth
the praises of Him that's called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light. Which in time past were not a
people but are now the people of God which hath had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy. This is what I want to
know more. I want to know more of Him and
the power of His resurrection that I might be made conformable
unto His death. You know what that means? I'm
going to have to come down. I'm going to have to come down
off of my seat of wisdom, and come down off my seat of knowledge,
and come down off of my saying, but, but, but, and hear the Word
of God, and submit to the Word of God, and quit stumbling and
kicking at Christ. That's what I'm going to have
to do. To be saved by Him. To be saved by Him. It's a blessing
not to be confounded. This is what Paul said over in
Ephesians. Unto Him, unto Him be glory,
in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.