Christ, The True Tabernacle

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ's priesthood?

Christ's priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood, as He offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice in a heavenly sanctuary. The Bible presents Christ's priesthood as far superior to that of the Old Testament Levitical priests. In Hebrews 8:1-16, it is emphasized that Jesus, our High Priest, serves in the heavenly tabernacle rather than an earthly one. Unlike the priests of Aaron's lineage who offered animal sacrifices that were ultimately ineffective, Christ offered His own blood as atonement for sin, effectively satisfying God's holy justice. His priesthood is unblemished and eternal, allowing Him to intercede on behalf of His people at the right hand of the Father.

Q: How do we know Christ's sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices?

Christ's sacrifice is superior because it is permanent and effective, unlike the temporary and ineffective animal sacrifices. The superiority of Christ's sacrifice is outlined in Hebrews 10:4, where it states that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. While the Levitical priests repeatedly offered animal sacrifices, these were mere shadows and could never effectuate true reconciliation with God. In contrast, Christ's sacrifice is once-for-all. His blood fulfilled what all previous sacrifices pointed toward, permanently atoning for sin and ensuring a lasting relationship with God. His effectiveness is confirmed by His resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father, as an eternal High Priest who mediates for His people.

Q: Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

The covenant of grace is essential as it guarantees God's promises based on Christ's obedience, not our own. The covenant of grace represents a transformative truth for Christians, distinct from the Old Covenant of the law, which was conditional and based on human performance. In Hebrews 8:6, it states that Christ is the mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. This covenant offers assurance because it is unconditional; it relies solely on Christ's righteousness and His completed work. Believers are promised eternal blessings, mercy, and a relationship with God that is secured by the blood of Christ. Unlike the Old Covenant, which was contingent on human obedience, the New Covenant guarantees unchanging divine favor and a spiritual inheritance.

Q: What does Hebrews teach about the true tabernacle?

Hebrews teaches that the true tabernacle is Christ's body, contrasting with the earthly tabernacle made by human hands. In the New Testament, particularly in Hebrews 8:2, the author reveals that Christ ministers in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. This true tabernacle is embodied in Christ Himself—His sinless humanity and divine nature combine to fulfill the typological shadows of the Old Testament. The tabernacle in the wilderness served as an earthly representation of the heavenly reality, but it was only temporary. Christ, as the true tabernacle, houses the full glory of God, providing access to divine grace and fellowship through His work. Believers can now experience God's presence in a way that the Old Testament saints could only long for.

Q: How does Christ mediate between God and humanity?

Christ mediates between God and humanity by being both fully divine and fully human, establishing peace through His sacrifice. In Hebrews 8:6, Christ is described as the mediator of a better covenant. This speaks to His unique role in reconciling God and humanity. As the God-man, He is fully capable of interceding for sinners; He has real access to the Father because He is divine, and He can represent humanity accurately because He is fully human. Christ's mediation does not suggest a mere negotiation of terms; rather, He achieves peace through the sacrificial offering of Himself, fulfilling the demands of the Law and the justice of God. This mediation assures believers of a continuous and secure relationship with God, sealed by His blood.

Hebrews 8, verse 1. Now the things
which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such a high
priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
in the heavens. Now Paul's going to stop and
take stock of what he's said so far. And I always like that. My wife says I'm a real bottom
line kind of guy. Don't confuse me with a lot of
cloud of details. Let's get right to the bottom
line. That's what I like. Every month at work, we get our
P&L, our prophet law statement. First thing I do is look at the
summary page. I want to see the bottom line. Then I go back and
look at the detail. Well, Paul says here's the bottom
line of the things that he's spoken about the priesthood of
Christ. Christ's priesthood is far better than the priesthood
of Aaron. What he's going to tell us in
these next verses is our Lord Jesus Christ ministers in a better
place. He ministers in heaven, not on
earth. His sacrifice is a better sacrifice. He doesn't offer animal blood.
He offers his own blood as payment for the sin of his people. He
ministers in a better tabernacle, the tabernacle of his own body
that he tabernacled among us, not a tent in the wilderness.
And Christ ministers with a better covenant, with better promises.
So Paul begins, he says, we have such a high priest. We have such
a wonderful high priest, such a glorious high priest. No one
else has ever had a high priest like believers have. That's what
Hannah prayed in her prayer. There's no rock like under our
rock. Well, there's no high priest like our high priest. Those other
high priests, they were just pictures, shadows of Christ,
our great high priest. Now, the business of the high
priest, is to honor God and to bring happiness to the people
through his ministry, through the sacrifices that he offers.
But you know, those Old Testament high priests, they didn't do
a very good job of that, did they? Look over at the page of
Hebrews chapter 10. To really through their sacrifices,
through their ministry, bring honor to God. Look what he says
in verse 8 of Hebrews 10. Above, when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, thou wouldst
not. Neither hath pleasure therein
which are offered by the law. The father was never pleased
with the sacrifices of those high priests. But Christ, our
high priest, he pleased the father. He honored his father in every
way. His death completely satisfied
the father. His blood was a sweet-smelling
sacrifice. It satisfied God's holy justice
against our sin. And His death, His life, His
death, His burial, His resurrection, all honored all of the attributes
of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, our
High Priest, brings happiness to His people. He brings eternal
life and joy to His people. We have such a High Priest. And the proof that the father's
honored by the sacrifice of Christ is the father honored the son.
Brought him back to the glory, to sit in the honored seat at
the father's right hand. And he sits there now, interceding
for his people because his work's finished. There's no more work
left for him to do. The work's done. Aaron never
could say that. Aaron and his sons, they never
sat as they ministered about the tabernacle. They always stood
because there was always something else to do. But Christ sits. And our high priest is the royal
high priest. Not only does he sit because
his work is finished, he sits on a throne ruling and reigning. He's given all authority in heaven
and earth. All because the father was well
pleased and honored through the sacrifice of his son. He put
sin away. And Christ, our high priest,
ministers in a better place. We'll see more of this later,
but he ministers In heaven, in a better place. Aaron, he ministered
for the people in a temporary tabernacle. His sons ministered
in the tabernacle and later they ministered in that glorious tabernacle
at Solomonville. But it was just temporary too.
Just like that tabernacle was temporary, the temple was temporary. It was torn down and destroyed.
It never was meant to be permanent. It never was as glorious. as
the tabernacle of the Lord Jesus Christ, his body. And when Aaron
offered blood on the day of atonement, he went into that tabernacle,
under the veil, into the holy of holies, out of sight of the
people. When Christ our high priest offered blood, he offered
his own blood. And he went behind the veil with
that blood for the sins of his elect. But he didn't go behind
that veil that just hung on those rods. He went into heaven itself. to the very presence of the father
to offer his blood as payment for the sins of his people. Look
over one page here at Hebrews 9. Verse 24. For Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the
truth, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence
of God for us. We have such a high priest. He's so much better. Well, Paul
goes on in verse two, he says, a minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.
Now, Christ, our high priest, he ministers in the true sanctuary
and the true tabernacle, and that word is holy thing. He ministers
in holy things, not pictures, but real holiness, real righteousness. That's where he ministers. Now,
that tabernacle in the wilderness was a picture of Christ. in every
detail. The body of Christ is the true
tabernacle that that tabernacle in the wilderness was a picture
of. That tabernacle was surrounded by a fence made of pure white
linen, which is a picture of the righteous holiness of Christ. The foundation of that building
was made up of solid silver. And the way they got that silver,
the Lord told the people, bring an offering of silver. Every
man paid the same price. And the Lord called it ransom
money. And they melted it down and made the foundation for that
tabernacle. Well, the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the foundation of everything a believer has. He is our foundation. The blood of Christ is our ransom
money that paid the debt for our sin and laid the foundation
for eternal life. Sets us free. The walls that
were built up on that foundation were made of incorruptible wood
covered with gold. It's a picture of the incorruptible,
sinless humanity of Christ, combined with His deity, gold. He's the
God-man. That building, first of all,
was covered with those goat hair curtains. They were a picture
of Christ, our sin bearer. And on top of the goat hair curtains
was the ram skin, dyed red, a picture of Christ, our substitute, the
blood that He'd shed as payment for the sins of His elect. Then
last, it was completely covered with badger skin, a picture of
the humanity of Christ. If someone could look at that
little building covered with the badger skin, it looked mighty
humble from the outside. It didn't look like much. It
wasn't very tall. It wasn't very ornate from the
outside. It was just badger skin. From looking at that from the
outside, nobody ever would have guessed the riches and the glory
that was inside that building. Well, that's our Lord Jesus.
When people would see Him as a man, they'd say, we know Him.
That's Mary's son. Joseph's son. Scripture says
there's no beauty about Him that we desire. People would look
at Him and never guess. Unless God gave them eyes to
see, they'd never guess the glory and the riches that are inside
that man. In that man dwelt the Godhead
Father. Full of grace and truth. Full of mercy. Peace and love
and righteousness for His people. If you could go inside that tabernacle
into the Holy of Holies, there dwelt the Shekinah glory of God.
That's where God's glory dwelled. And nobody could see it. Nobody
except the high priest. He went in there once a year,
he saw it, when he went in to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.
But believers, you see it. You see God's glory shine in
the face of Jesus Christ. That tabernacle is where God
said He'd meet with men. Specifically, the Lord told Moses,
I'll meet with you and I'll commune with you from above the mercy
seat between the wings of those chariots. And that mercy seat
was made of pure gold, which pictures the deity of Christ.
And it covered the ark that held the broken law, covered the broken
law. And you know, that is a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our propitiation. Sinners
come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. God will meet with
sinners at the mercy seat, at His Son, our propitiation, Lord
Jesus Christ. He is our sin covering. And that
tabernacle was pitched by men. And when the cloudy pillar moved,
they folded it up, took it to the next place where the pillar
led them to. But the body of Christ is not temporary. It's eternal. And it wasn't prepared
by men. He was, we looked at that last
week. He's completely sinless, separate from Adam's transgression,
separate from Adam's sin. Men had nothing to do with that
body. That was a body that God prepared
in the womb of the Virgin Mary. And that's, this is our high
priest ministering in a better tabernacle. He's the fulfillment
of every type and pattern and shadow in the Old Testament,
particularly here where we're talking about the tabernacle
and the priesthood. So he says in verse 3, for every high priest
is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it is
of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. Now the
priest, he must have a sacrifice. He's got to. He's got to have
a sacrifice and blood to shed. Scripture says without the shedding
of blood there's no remission. Well, if Christ is going to be
our high priest, he's got to have a sacrifice too. And he
did. But you know, as God, He doesn't
have anything to offer for a man because he's God. So God became
a man. So he'd have a body to offer.
And as a man, he offered a better sacrifice. He offered the only
sacrifice for sin. He offered his own blood, his
own broken body. Now, those Levitical priests,
they offered animal blood every day, hour after hour for centuries,
they offered animal blood. which never did pay for sin,
never was intended to pay for sin. Well, when the Lord Jesus
came, He didn't come from the tribe of Levi, so He can't offer
a sacrifice like those priests offered. And I thought while
I was studying that this week, that's a good thing, because
those sacrifices never did anybody good. We didn't want Him to come
and offer those sacrifices again. Christ came and offered a better
sacrifice. Matthew Henry said this, He offered
a better sacrifice on a better altar. He offered his human nature
on the altar of his divine nature. And that sacrifice paid for sin,
paid for all the sin of his elect. Jude the priest, they offered,
they offered blood sacrifices and they also, they brought gifts.
They offered sweet smelling incense on the altar. That's a picture
of the righteousness of the intercession of Christ. Well, Christ, he brought
incense too. He brought His own righteousness
as a sweet-smelling incense offered before the Father. By nature,
we stink. Dead people stink. We need this
incense. We need to be given life so we
don't stink anymore. For the blood and righteousness
of Christ is what makes us accepted before the Father. Accepted in
the Beloved, in His sacrifice. Well, verse 4, he says, for if
He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there
are priests that offer gifts according to the law, who serve
under the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses
was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle.
For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to
the pattern shown to thee in the mount. Now if Christ's priesthood
had been an earthly priesthood, it wouldn't have been valid.
Because like I said a minute ago, he wasn't from the tribe
of Levi. So if it was an earthly Priesthood, it wouldn't have
done anybody any good. If the Lord Jesus had been a
mere man, if he'd just been a man descended from Adam's seed, he
never could have been a priest because he wasn't from the tribe
of Levi. And those men, they offered sacrifices according
to the law, but they never did anyone any spiritual good because
those sacrifices and that priesthood was only ever given to us as
a shadow point to us and tell us someone's coming, somebody's
casting that shadow and he's coming to look for him. And our
Lord Jesus Christ does not deal in lookalikes. He doesn't deal
in shadows and pretend things. He deals in true holiness and
true righteousness. And shadows, you know, I thought
I can understand and humanly speaking, I can understand how
someone who grew up being steeped in this Jewish religion, the
traditions and the ceremonies. I can understand how they had
a hard time giving those things up. But shadows are just by definition
temporary. Shadows are without substance.
They are always meant to be temporary. But Christ is eternal. He is the substance that cast
that shadow. And once you see the substance,
You know, you could see someone might be coming around the corner.
You see their shadow first, maybe. But once you see the substance,
once you see the person, you're not looking at that shadow anymore,
because Christ is the substance. He's the one who is to come.
And the priesthood of Christ is not an earthly priesthood.
He ministers for us in heaven. I asked Janet as we were driving
over here this morning. How many times do you reckon
those apostles After they watched the Lord descend back to glory,
the angel came and told them, now you do what He told you.
Go into all the earth and preach the gospel. They were persecuted,
hated. They had hard times. How many
times do you reckon they wished, I wish the Master was here? Oh,
it was so sweet when we had His presence. When He'd sit and teach
us. How they must have missed His
presence. I thought that, how I longed
for His presence, how they must have wished He was still with
them. But if our Lord had died, risen and remained on earth,
His priesthood never would have been perfected. He had to go
to glory. He had to leave us for a time
to go behind the veil, because now He's in the presence of the
Father, making intercession for us. He had to go away. That's
where his priesthood is performed. It's in heaven. It's not here
on earth. It's not before us. It's before the father. So that's
where he went to minister for his people. But now, don't get
anything about these these types wrong, these shadows and these
types and pictures. Now, they had their place. They
were to point to Christ. It was very important that Moses
make that tabernacle and all the furnitures in that tabernacle
exactly like God told him to make it. Because it's just a
picture. It's a picture of God's Son.
This is a picture of our Savior, the Savior of God's elect. And
all that gold and that white linen and the incorruptible wood
and the sacrifices that were offered, they were important
because they were a shadow of the priesthood of Christ. They
were a picture that's seen in that tabernacle, we see the Lord
Jesus Christ in that tabernacle. But now Christ our high priest,
he didn't come in the descent of those Levitical priests. He
didn't come and offer gifts according to the law. The law told him
to offer blood of bulls and goats and calves and turtle doves.
Christ came to offer a much better sacrifice because he has a much
better ministry. Look at verse 6. But now, hath
he obtained a more excellent ministry? By how much also he
is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better
promises." Christ has a more excellent ministry. His priesthood just doesn't even
compare with those Old Testament priests because he has a better
covenant, a mediator of a better covenant, and he has far better
promises. Now, over the past couple of
weeks, we've been talking about the priesthood of Christ and
just repeatedly I told you the differences between that temporary
priesthood and Christ's eternal priesthood. They were many. Christ is one. He just needed
himself. They died. He lives. He is life. They never sat. Christ is seated in the heavenlies.
Their sacrifices were ineffectual. Christ's sacrifice is effectual.
Put away the sin of his people. So he's the mediator of a better
covenant. Now a mediator, you know, is
a go-between. A mediator can step between two
parties who are at war. They're at war, they hate each
other, they can't stand to speak to one another. I saw an interview
with Jimmy Carter when he was negotiating, trying to negotiate
peace between Egypt and Israel. He said he couldn't get those
two men in the same room together. He said within five minutes they're
screaming at each other. He had to put them in different
rooms. He'd go talk to this one. Then he'd go talk to this one.
He'd come back and talk to this one. He couldn't let them see
each other. They hated each other. They were at war. Well, that's
the way we are with God. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. We've got to have a mediator.
A go-between. One who can talk to both parties. One who can touch both parties.
Who's both God and man. Now a mediator He comes and negotiates
peace, doesn't He? Well, those Old Testament priests,
they were mediators between God and men. They went into the tabernacle.
They offered sacrifices for the people. But they weren't very
good mediators. They were still sinners themselves.
They never had unrestricted access to the Father. They're sinners.
But the Lord Jesus Christ, our mediator, He is God. He's God's Son. He has full access
to the Father. And he doesn't negotiate peace.
He doesn't just come and say, well, now, you know, here's what
God's offering. If you accept it, you say, well,
no, I'll take A, B and C, but I won't take point D, you know,
go back and see what he said. No, he brings terms of surrender
and he doesn't negotiate peace. He made peace for his people
through the blood of his cross. But he doesn't just come. You
know, I think I like to watch the History Channel and you see
some of these countries, you know, they're at war and they
sign a peace agreement, but in their hearts, they hate it. They
chafe under that peace agreement. You know, what they had to give
up and what they had to agree to, they chafe under it. That's
not the way God made peace for his people. He doesn't just say,
here's a peace treaty, sign it. He makes us willing. He makes
us sons and daughters of God in a peaceful family. He sends
his spirit to dwell in the hearts of his people. And we have peace. Peace that we enjoy. Peace that
we love through Christ our Redeemer. So he's a better mediator. And
he's a mediator of a better covenant. That old covenant of the law
was conditional. Do this and you get something. Don't do it and you die. Grace
is unconditional. Absolutely unconditional. You
don't have to meet any terms. You don't have to send in an
application. You don't have to go for an interview to see if
you qualify. There's just one condition. Are you a sinner? Then Christ came to save. He
came to save sinners. It's unconditional. That old
covenant under the law was based on our works, our obedience.
Christ's covenant has absolutely nothing to do with us. It's all
dependent on His obedience. That's what makes it a better
covenant. It's sure. That old covenant was broken
every single day, every minute, every second it was broken. Grace
is everlasting. It'll never quit. That old covenant,
it was just revealed in types and patterns and shadows. I'm
sure the people didn't fully know what those sacrifices meant,
what they pointed to. It's just a shadow. But Christ,
is a full and clear revelation of God's salvation. He's a full
revelation, a shining light of mercy and grace. He's the complete
revelation of God's righteousness. And here's good news to everybody
in this room. That old covenant just reached to the Jews. God
made that covenant with Israel. Not one person here is a Jew.
What's our hope? This covenant reaches to the
whole world. Jew and Greek alike. And Christ is neither Jew nor
Greek. That's a better covenant established
on better promises. That old covenant had promises
under the law. Mainly, it promised earthly blessings.
You know, God promised Abraham a land, Canaan. He said, your
seed will inherit this land. But it was just temporary. They
had peace and prosperity at times, as long as they were obedient.
But when they weren't, God dealt with them harshly. How many times
do we read in the Old Testament? Some heathen king comes along
and carries them all off. I mean, you know, they don't
even get to live as a conquered people in their own land. They're
carried off as slaves to some faraway country. You know, their
land is destroyed. Eventually, the Lord remembers
His promise. He delivers them. They come back
and they rebuild. And for a while, they have peace
and prosperity again. And before long, they neglect
God's worship again. They neglect the blood. They
start turning the idols. And here comes another heathen
king carrying them off to slavery. God sent them plagues and famine.
It was just temporary. As long as they were obedient,
they could live in the land of plenty. But for sinners, like
you and me, that's not good news. We can't keep it. It's impossible.
But God's promises to us in Christ, in this better covenant, they're
always yes. They're without variance. They're
eternal. And they'll never be taken away
from God's children. Because they're not based on
our obedience. They're based on the obedience of Christ. They're
not based on our faithfulness. It's His faithfulness. And we're
promised much better blessings. We're promised real blessings.
Grace, mercy, peace, eternal life, righteousness. A spiritual
kingdom, not an earthly kingdom. They have that kingdom over there
in Canaan. What God promises his people
is a spiritual kingdom. And it's all because of the sacrifice
of Christ. And last, here's what makes this
covenant and these promises so much better. They're sealed. the blood of Christ. With His
precious blood, they're sealed. That's what makes them sure.
That's what makes them so much better. Alright, I hope that'll
bless you.

Christ, The True Tabernacle

What does the Bible say about Christ's priesthood?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices?

Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

What does Hebrews teach about the true tabernacle?

How does Christ mediate between God and humanity?

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Christ, The True Tabernacle

What does the Bible say about Christ's priesthood?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices?

Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

What does Hebrews teach about the true tabernacle?

How does Christ mediate between God and humanity?

Sermon Transcript

About Frank Tate

Comments

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