The name of the message is far
greater than Moses. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
chapter three. Hebrews chapter three. We'll
be looking at verses one to six of Hebrews chapter three, where
we see by the pen of Paul that the Holy Spirit will have him
pen the fact of the glory and the preeminence of Christ over
Moses. Now, the Jews, they put Moses
on a high position. But Paul here is going to bring
forth that Christ is the one who has the preeminence. Let's
read verses 1 to 6 of Hebrews chapter 3. 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, 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. And Moses verily was faithful
in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things
which were spoken, which were to be spoken after. But Christ
as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Now Paul has been showing the
hebrews to whom he's writing that messiah is better than the
prophets turn to chapter one of hebrews chapter one we'll
see this in hebrews one verses one to three and remember this
passage is all about christ it's all about him all about him It's all about how Christ is
far greater than Moses. But before Paul gets to this
point, the Holy Spirit, who's the true author of this book,
has Paul pen these words in Hebrews 1, 1-3, where we're gonna see
that Messiah is better than the prophets. God, who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son. Remember, Christ is both prophet,
priest, and king, right? And we're going to see his superiority
over the prophets. They're mere men. He's the Son
of God. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
Says this, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds. So Christ here is proclaimed
to be the creator. My oh my. Earlier we read, for every house is built by some
men, but he that built all things is who? God in Hebrews chapter
3 verse 4 so this portion here in Hebrews 1 to by him saying
by whom he may also make he made the world is proclaiming he's
the builder he's the creator Christ is not
no mere man he's God incarnate in the flesh Look at this, who
being the brightness of his glory in the express image of his person
and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had
by himself all marvel at this beloved of God. Look at this,
purged our sins. Purged our sins. When did he
do that, Brother Zane? Amen, he's a lamb slain before
the foundation of the world, isn't he? And then that which
was planned and purposed in eternity had to take place in time and
space. And at Calvary's cross, he purged our sins away, didn't
he? Oh my, but it was all God's plan, all his plan, purged our
sins. Now he's sat down on the right
hand of the majesty on high. My, oh my, then in the same chapter, look at this in the same chapter
Hebrews chapter 1 verses 14 all the way to 218 Hebrews chapter
1 look at this all the way to 218 he's going to show us that
Messiah is greater than all the angels so he's just showing us
he's greater than all the prophets Now, let's read this portion.
He's going to show us that Messiah is greater than all the angels,
starting in verse 14 of Hebrews 1. And remember, there was no
chapters and verses in the original letter. It was a letter. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation? Therefore, we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? God also
bearing witness, both with signs and wonders and diverse miracles
and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will. For
unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come,
whereof we speak? But one in certain place testified,
saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son
of man, that thou visiteth him? Thou madest him a little lower
than the angels. Thou crownest him with glory
and honor, and thou Him over the works of thy hands. Thou
hast put all things in subjection under His feet. Look at that,
Christ is King. For in that He shall 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. that he, by the grace of God,
should taste death for every man. For it became him for whom
are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many
sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. saying i will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church will i sing praise
unto thee and again i will put my trust in him and again behold
i give all the children which god hath given me for as much
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself
likewise took part of the same that he through death that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil, and deliver them, this is us, who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily
he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him
the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God,
to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. That's us.
For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, yet he is able
to secure them that are tempted. He's able to comfort us. He's
able to aid us. My beloved. And so now, now that
Paul has put forth the Messiah's superiority over the prophets,
and now we just saw he's put forth his superiority over the
angels, in the portion we started reading with, which is Hebrews
3, 1 to 6, he set forth, we saw the superiority of Christ over
Moses. So the fact of the glory and
preeminence of Christ is being brought forth here. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He's the sent one. He's the long-awaited
Messiah. He's the one Job said, I know
my Redeemer liveth. He's the one Joseph looked to.
He's the one Abraham looked to. He's the one Moses looked to.
He's the one all the prophets look to. He's the one we who
are his people look to. Isn't that wonderful? We're all
looking to the same person. I was saying something to Vicki
this week. You know, you hear all kinds
of stuff out there about Antichrist and all this, all just, just,
but you never notice something? People are so caught up in Antichrist
and trying to figure out who he is. Are they looking to Christ? None of them. They're looking
for signs and people, but let us, let us keep our eyes on Christ. Because he's coming again. And
we say in our hearts, even so, Lord, come quickly. Whenever
you will, whenever you will. Oh my. And so in this chapter,
Paul will bring forth that Messiah is much better than Moses. much
more preeminent than Moses. And Lord willing, we'll see that
in this portion tonight. Let's read verse one. Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the
apostle and high priest of our profession. So here we see the
only time we're mentioned is holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling. And then after that, it has nothing
to do with us except bringing forth Christ Right? Bringing forth Christ is the
preeminent one. So Paul's going to get right
to the heart of the matter, isn't he? But notice what he calls
us before he does that. This is marvelous. Wherefore,
holy brethren. Hey, holy brethren Zane. Hey, hello, holy sister Dee. We don't feel that way, do we?
But we're holy brethren, isn't that wonderful? It's a statement
of fact. Oh my, partakers of the heavenly calling. Consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ,
or Christ Jesus. See the word wherefore in verse
one. Paul draws a conclusion from
the preceding argument that we read, right, in chapter two. of having showing, first of all,
in chapter one, that Messiah is far better than the prophets,
and then far better than the angels. Now he's continuing that
thought when he says, wherefore, in verse one. He draws a conclusion
from the preceding argument of having shown that Messiah is
better than the prophets and the angels. Now he asks his readers
to consider Christ and Moses. So he's continuing in that same
vein, isn't he? That same vein. And we see here
that Paul calls the Hebrews. Now we know he's writing to God's
elect. He's not writing to unsaved Jews.
He's writing to those, those Hebrews who had professed Christ.
And we're still caught up a little bit in, in the, in the things
of the Mosaic law. Maybe had, maybe needed some
clarity about Christ being the Messiah.
They believed it, but, but Obviously the Holy Spirit had Paul penned
these words to them, didn't he? For their learning and for our
learning, too, which is amazing. But notice he calls these Hebrews,
these born-again blood-washed saints, holy brethren. That's
not because of their birth. That's not because they were
born Jews. Not at all. Not at all. That's also not because
of any merit in them. There's no merit in them, just
like there's no merit in us. Right? For salvation. Oh my. He's calling them holy
brethren because of the sanctification of the Holy Spirit of God. They've
been born again by the almighty power of God, the Holy Spirit. We see also the words, partakers
of the heavenly calling. Now this is true of every born-again,
blood-washed saint. Brothers and sisters, we are
partakers of the heavenly calling. That's amazing. That's amazing. This is true of every born-again,
blood-washed saint. This call spoken of is from heaven. Notice that? It's a heavenly
calling. It's not an earthly calling. It's a heavenly calling. What does it mean to be born
again? Born from above. Ah, this is regeneration, beloved. This is what the old timers called
effectual calling. I like calling it invincible
calling. You can't resist it. If you're one of the Lord's lost
sheep, and it's your appointed time for him to save you, you
will not be able to resist him. Because you'll be called with
a heavenly calling. And that's what happens to every
believer, born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Again, the old
theologians used to talk of an effectual call. A general call
goes out, right? When I say flee to Christ, that's
a general call to whoever will listen to these messages. flee
to Christ, he's the only hope for sinners. But then there's
an inward effectual call that can only be done by God the Holy
Spirit. Takes the preaching of the gospel,
makes it effectual, but it has nothing to do with the person
speaking it, it's all the work of God. Why did we rejoice over the gospel
now when we didn't 40 years ago? because we've been born again
of the Holy Spirit of God, called with an effectual call, given
faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Born again by,
remember, the almighty power of God, the Holy Spirit, who
is just as much God as the Father and just as much God as the Son.
Right? They all have the same power,
don't they? Oh my. So this partakers of the heavenly
calling is being called to Christ, being born again and being called
to Christ by the Holy Spirit of God. And again, the old theologians
used to talk of a factual call and general call. Is all men
receive a general call or a warning? whether it's through nature or
conscience or providence, but the elect, now this is where,
the elect receive an effectual conquering call. Conquering,
eh, Brother Zane? He conquered us, didn't he? Oh
my! Give us a new heart, Sister Dee,
that hungers and thirsts after him, desires to come and hear
the gospel. You know, listen to this, what
Paul penned in Galatians, he said this, that's what he's done
for every single believer. He's called us by his grace.
We didn't receive wrath, we received grace. And he says this, to reveal
his son in me. that I might preach him among
the heathen. Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Galatians
1, 15 and 16. So when God calls us by his grace,
right, we're born again of the Holy Spirit, given faith to believe,
and he reveals his son to us in a way that we never knew him
before. We might have thought we knew
him, right? I was a God person. You know,
somebody asked me if I believed in God when I was a Catholic.
Oh, yeah, I believe in God. I'm a Catholic. Come on. I didn't
know him. I didn't know him. Whether I'd
been a Catholic or a heathen, I didn't know him. I had no clue
who he was until he revealed himself to me. Oh, my. Has our lives ever been the same,
Zane? Never. Oh my. Now we just rejoice in
our wonderful King. We rejoice in our Savior. My
oh my. So Paul, turn if you would, turn
if you would to 2 Timothy 1.8. And let's read what Paul writes
here in 2 Timothy 1.8. 1.8 till 10. See Paul, He began to relate his conversion
there in Galatians. His call, the revelation of Christ
in his heart, and direct revelation of the gospel to him by the master.
And he's at that time born again. Born again by the Holy Spirit
of God. Look at this, and I love this, in 2 Timothy 1, verses
8 to 10. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of the 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, what? Holy
calling, there it is. A conquering, a factual calling,
isn't it? Oh my, not according to our works. Nothing we did, beloved. but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus, when, Zane? Before the world was, began. Exactly what you said earlier.
Saved by the Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world.
And that which was planned and purposed by God must take place
in time and space. So Christ Jesus, the Son of God,
the second person of the Trinity, enters into time and space to
save His people from their sins. And praise be to God, He did
it by the shedding of His precious, precious blood that redeemed
our eternal souls. And He obtained eternal redemption
for us, didn't He? My, hallelujah, what a Savior. What a Savior is Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Look at this. But is now made
manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who
hath abolished death, the sting of death is gone, and hath brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. Oh my. So this calling's from above,
we just saw there too. And it actually stretches all
the way to eternity. Because it's God who saved us
with an eternal salvation, right? But it had to take place in time
and space, didn't it? My oh my, it's wonderful. It's
God who's called us by his Holy Spirit into his righteousness,
to a participation of all his grace. And it's God himself who
redeemed us and made us his children. My. not according to our works,
not any time before, not any time when the Lord saves us,
and not any time afterwards either, right? It's all God, from beginning
to end and from everything in between. Aren't you thankful? Oh my, it makes your heart sing,
doesn't it sister? Oh my, it's wonderful. And this was all part of his,
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. Oh my, and we had
no clue. We had no clue. And then he revealed
it to us saying, and we really never been the same, have we? Oh my goodness. This is wondrous. This salvation's incredible.
Absolutely, no wonder the saints of God are filled with joy. My,
when we, this is why it's so important for us to sit under
the gospel and hear these wonderful truths. Because we go out in
the world, we forget fast, don't we? And in this, just keep meditating
on this through the week. Meditate upon this wondrous fact
that Christ is the preeminent one. That he is far better than
the angels. He's far better than the prophets.
He's far better than Moses. He is the only savior. And he's
God incarnate in the flesh. And our king's name is the Lord
Jesus Christ. My, my oh my. God the Father chose us in Christ
in eternity. Then he sent his beloved son
into this world to die in our room and place, to redeem us
with his precious blood. He didn't leave us in our sins.
That's a marvel in all in itself, that he didn't leave us in our
sins. But because we were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, he
called us with this heavenly calling, this effectual calling
by God the Holy Spirit. All we are is receivers. You
know, we never would have come if he hadn't called us with a
conquering call. People say, just make a decision
for Jesus. No one would. No one in this world would. The
Bible says there's none that seeketh after God. You know,
the only time we seek after God is when we're born again. Right? Now we seek God, don't we? Now
we seek Christ. But before we were born again,
wanted nothing to do. I'm good. I'm good. Gotta weigh my bad and my good,
and surely I'm not, I'm not, oh my, there's none good, no,
not one. There's none that understand
the things of God. There's none that seek after
God. We must be made willing in the
day of God's power. And it must be with a conquering,
effectual call of God, the Holy Spirit. And we say praise his
name. Praise his name, because we never
would have come to him if he hadn't called us. And God's beloved,
we're accepted already in Christ. Marvel at that. We're not waiting
to be accepted. We're accepted right now in Christ,
in the beloved. And you know what? He keeps us.
I love that song. We say, prone to wander, Lord,
I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
That's us. That's us, even after the Lord saves us. But He keeps
us, beloved, by His almighty power. He keeps us. Oh, those
He saves. He says, I am not gonna lose
one of my sheep. And we marvel, praise God, I'm a sheep of God.
Because I know I can't keep myself. Oh my. But He keeps us. And note the sovereignty of God
in our redemption. He saved us. He saved us. He called us. His purpose was
fulfilled in our calling. And His grace provided the way
for that calling. Through the Lord Jesus Christ,
by the power of God the Holy Spirit. It's grace all the way. I love what Spurgeon said, it's
all of grace. Salvation's all of grace, or
it's not salvation. Plain and simple. If you're not
saved by grace alone, through Christ alone, by faith alone,
then you're not saved. My oh my, but if you are, rejoice,
because God made you willing. God saved us. Oh, it's wonderful. And all this was freely given.
The salvation was freely given. It wasn't earned, it wasn't merited,
it was freely given by God to his people. In Christ, when? Before the world began. So if
it was before the will began, sister, do we have anything to
do with it? No, we don't, do we? Brother and sister, we have
nothing to do with it, other than just receiving. And even
in the receiving, he makes us willing to receive that, because
we'd be going, nope, nope, I'm good, I'm good. in our natural
state. But he gives us a new heart,
right? The hungers and thirsts after righteousness, which is
Christ. Which is Christ. It's glorious. Let us praise
the Lord for this wondrous salvation that we have in Christ. And note
the sovereignty. Again, the sovereignty. He called
us. His purpose was fulfilled in our calling. His grace provided
the way. It's not earned. And he writes
and says, holy brethren, my oh my, sinners called holy. And the word holy here, let's
read that verse again. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of
our profession, Christ Jesus. The word holy here does not have
a particular reference to a quality of life, but to a position in
salvation. We're holy in Christ. He's our
sanctification, right? We're holy in Christ. And then
we see the word consider, consider, or take a good look, take a good
look at Jesus, the apostle and high priest, whom we confess
and profess as ours, our savior, our redeemer. And he's the apostle
because he was sent by God to preach the gospel of redemption
and to secure the salvation of his people by his obedience and
by his death. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous, Romans 519. So in Adam we fell, but in Christ
we're made alive. And he's also the high priest
because he enters into the holiest of holies with his atonement. What's his atonement? His own
blood. And he intercedes with the Father
for us. My oh my. Turn if you would to Hebrews
chapter 9. Just a few chapters over. Hebrews chapter 9. My oh
my. Look what it says here in verses
11 and 12. The one who obtained it is the one who gives it. It's amazing. It's amazing. So in this chapter, Paul takes
one of the heroes of the Hebrews, Moses, and contrasts him with
the Son of God, with the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's still
speaking in terms of the humanity of Christ, having declared his
deity and showed that this man was superior to all things, held
dear to the Jews. And he once again draws attention
to Christ in his twofold and important human offices, the
apostle and high priest. Look at verse 17 of Hebrews chapter
2. So Paul again is returning to
a theme of Christ's faithfulness in the office of high priest.
He's a faithful high priest. He redeemed his people. from
all our sins by the shedding of his blood, look at this, Hebrews
2.17, wherefore in all things that behooved him, Christ Jesus,
to be made like unto his brethren, that's us, to be made human,
right, he's the seed of the woman, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God. He totally
fulfilled the law of God in our room and place, perfectly. We're
commanded to love the Lord thy God with all our heart, mind,
and soul. We can't do that, but Christ did it for us. Oh my. And in the law says, the soul
that sinneth, it must die. Christ is the great substitute,
the sinless one, dies in our room and place. Satisfying then
God's justice then, that demanded satisfaction. See, the law was
fulfilled, but the justice said, I must be fulfilled. I must be
satisfied. Well, then he gives his life
in the room and place of sinners like you and I. My, have you
ever seen a greater example of love, of mercy, of grace? It's incredible. Look at this,
a merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining
to God to make reconciliation, for what? For the sins of the
people. He's the sinless one, dying for sinners. My, and as
apostle, our Lord has already distinguished already being distinguished
as both the superior message and the messenger to the law
and the prophets. As high priest, he laid hold
of the seed of Abraham. And rather than atoning for sin
once a year, as the high priest used to do, he put away sins
of his people by one offering. One sacrifice. One sacrifice. All those Old Testament sacrifices
could never take away sin. Christ offers himself up once
for all the sins of all the elect of all the ages. That's incredible. But he's God. He's God. My oh my. And what did he do? He put away the sins of his people
and brings many sons to glory. my oh my by his substitution
his death he put an end to death he destroyed the power of the
devil and he delivered his people from the bondage in the fear
of death when he purchased them with his own blood and saved
them from their sins and again let us notice how the people
who are beneficiaries of the death suffered by christ are
identified well the description of them is clear It's a clear
decoration of the intent, design, purpose, and success of the glorious
vicarious death. We're called the holy ones, holy
brethren. Sinners made holy? Yes, by the
blood of Christ, by the sacrifice of Christ. My. And with this complete revelation
the scripture gives us, we need never wonder about the purpose
of anything. God's in charge. Right? Oh my. Knowing that God has done what
he pleased, and what he does is forever, the purpose of a
thing is defined by the end result. The believers are described as
holy. Again, they're not personally
so. No, but they're holy by association with the Lord Jesus Christ. Right? Not in ourselves. But
in Christ, isn't that wonderful? Oh, just makes your heart sing.
My. And they're set apart for his
use. Set apart for the thrice holy God as Christ is their all
things, is all in all to us. Oh my. And being called holy brethren,
you know what else that does? It distinguishes them. It designates
them as the very ones for whom Christ suffered death. He didn't
die for everybody. Nobody died for his people, didn't
they? Called holy brethren. My. Unholy rebels, ungodly were
called in Romans, made holy. My. It's wonderful. And again,
we see we're also described as partakers of the heavenly calling.
This is another way of saying we're objects of the grace of
God, born again by his Holy Spirit, trophies of his grace, born from
above by the power of God and by the might of God, the Holy
Spirit, and called saints. Christ is the apostle and high
priest of our confession. He's the gospel we embrace. The
gospel is all about Christ. Without Christ, there's no good
news, is there? No. And He's our profession. We profess
salvation only in Christ and Him alone. He's our confidence.
He's our hope. We have no confidence or hope
for eternal life outside of Christ. But in Christ, oh my, we're glory-bound,
beloved. Not because of anything in us,
not because of any merit in us, but all by the perfect, sin-atoning
work of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary's cross. How can we
not say glory to your name, right? Glory to your name. Now, in order to contrast the
Old Testament and the New, Paul distinguishes between the difference
of being a member of the house Moses, Moses is just a member
of a house like we are, and he who is the builder of the house,
which is the Lord Jesus Christ. The latter, Christ, is far exceeding
the former Moses in glory. Let's read verses two to six
of Hebrews chapter three. 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, insomuch
as he who hath builted 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 the testimony of those things
which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a son over his
own house, whose house are we, are we, if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm until the end. So here Paul
picks up in verses two to four, he picks up the contrast between
Moses and Christ, and Christ being the Messiah. Both were
faithful to God, who appointed them to their particular tasks
and offices. The distinction is that of glory. Christ is God. He's the builder
of the house. He's just not someone who's part
of the house, living in it, which is the members of his body. Oh
my. Moses was faithful in all his
house or in the household in which he operated. Therefore,
Moses is not diminished in any degree, but Christ's faithfulness
is worthy of greater glory. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians
3. 2 Corinthians. The same kind
of language is employed in contrast of the law and the gospel. 2 Corinthians 3, verses 6 to 17,
we see a contrast, the same kind of language employed by Paul
in showing us the contrast of the law and the gospel. Verse 6, who also hath made us
able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the
spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But
if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones,
was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly
behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance,
which glory was to be done away? How shall How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, that's speaking of the law, much more doth the ministration
of righteousness, that's speaking of the gospel, exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory
that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, being the law, much more that which remaineth
is glorious, which is the gospel. Seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness of speech, and not as Moses,
which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. But
their minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the
same veil, untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which veil is done away in Christ. Look at that. The veil's done
away in Christ, isn't it? We don't have a veil over our
eyes anymore. God's revealed himself to us through the preaching
of the gospel. But even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. The Jews are still
in darkness and haven't accepted Christ as their Messiah. They
read the Old Testament, they study the Old Testament, but
they're still in darkness. See, the gospel's liberating.
It's freeing. Look at this, nevertheless, when
it shall turn to the Lord, the veils will be taken away. There's
gonna come a time when the veil will be taken away. Now the Lord
is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there
is what? Liberty, freedom. Do you see? See, the same kind of language
is used in their explaining the law and the gospel is what's
used in Hebrews. And the distinction is that the
glory due Moses was that as a member of the household, whereas the
glory due Christ is as he who is the head of the household,
the builder of the house. The one functioned within the
house, Moses, that the other built, Christ. As that which is being declared
is the old covenant served the new. All of the Old Testament was
the New Testament shrouded in mystery and type and picture
and shadow. And the eternal covenant is the house of Christ. And Moses
was a servant in that house. Moses was a faithful servant
in Christ's house. But he who built the house deserves
far more glory, doesn't he? Far more glory. My, than he who
serves in the house. And there's no small allusion
to the fact that Christ is both human being and is also God. Look at verse 4. For every house
is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. Moses was a servant of God. And the God he served was the
God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the apostle and high priest
of our profession. And he's also the builder and
maker and creator of all things. Verse 5 clearly states that Moses
served Christ's house, and that service that he rendered was
for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. The Old Covenant served in the
house of the new, just as the Old Testament served in the house
of the new. And this states in no uncertain
terms that the new covenant was in reality the first covenant,
the everlasting covenant, called the everlasting covenant of grace,
the one that was ratified by Christ's blood, the eternal covenant. My oh my. Moses could not serve in a house
that was not already built, could he? See, it's the everlasting covenant. And Moses' servitude was to the
gospel, later to be revealed in the person and work of the
apostle and high priest of our confession, the Lord Jesus Christ. My oh my. And this also directs
our consideration not away from Moses, but to the direction of
Moses himself, for obviously he considered the apostle and
high priest of our profession, the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't
look to himself, he looked to the Messiah. That's who he looked
to. He looked to the same one we're
looking to, didn't he, Brother Zane? He had the same faith we
have. Yeah, he prophesied about him. As a matter of fact, Christ
on the road to Emmaus says, remember he said, the law and the prophets,
they testify of me. Moses wrote the law, testifying
of Christ. Oh my. And then finally in verse
six, we see another subtle distinctions made. Look at this. 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 until the end? After the declaration that the
house in which Moses served is the house of the Son, the Son
of God, Paul says that we are members of the Son's house. God's
people, the elect. We're not members of Moses' house.
Moses is a member just like we are. David's a member. Paul's a member. John, Peter,
all those saints old that lived and died. Up to the saints on earth right
now. And all the saints in glory. My oh my, because he's the head. He's over all of us. And we do not apply to the law
for righteousness or any aspect of life. We look to Christ. We
look to Christ. We consider Jesus Christ perfectly
fulfilling the law. in our place, in the place of
his people, in securing, in obtaining our eternal salvation by his
perfect finished work on Calvary's cross. And our hearts just sing,
don't they? Over this magnificent salvation.
And the disclaimer attached to the end of verse six, it says,
if, that's inserted, does not speak of losing the salvation
that you had, Nothing to do with gain. How can you lose a salvation
that you had nothing to do with gaining it? How can you lose a salvation
that God gave you and he said, I'm not gonna lose one of you? So this is not talking about
losing our salvation, beloved. No. People take things and they
just twist scripture. Context, context, context. It
addresses the central theme of this book, that Christ is superior
to all the things of the Old Covenant, the Old Testament. Remember that Paul's writing
to Hebrew professors, people who profess Christ that are of
Hebrew birth. And he's warning that they are
not to return to the beggarly elements of the world or to seek
to incorporate the old covenant practices with the faith of the
gospel. They do not mix. We talked about that the other
day when Paul rebuked Peter. My oh my. and to return to the
old covenant in any form is to prove that you are not a member
of the house that Christ built. My, oh, my. Consider Christ,
and you will live in the right house. Trust Christ, and you'll
live in the right house. Praise the Savior, you who know
him, who can tell how much we owe him. Praise the Lord Jesus
Christ for saving His people from all their sins by the shedding
of His precious blood and giving of His life in our room and place. Praise His mighty name. We'll
praise Him here on earth, and then we're going to praise Him
in glory. Oh, that'll be so marvelous, won't it? The Lord is so good
to us, so full of grace and mercy. My.