Open your Bibles with me to Hebrews. We're going to be spending this
morning predominantly in that epistle. But by way of review, what we
have done, we have scripturally established
from Romans chapter 5, verses 12 through 20 in particular,
that an astounding legal precedent that has been set in place. Almighty and all holy God has
firmly and eternally established a legal precedent like no other. It rules over all His elect. Literally, by His grace. It's
a legal precedent that in turn changes our history. And it changes
our history in that it entirely, legally, keep in mind, before
God, erases all that's evil out of our wretched, sinful past. Erases it. Blocks it out. It does this magnificent thing
so that there is before God absolutely nothing that can even be found
whereby we can be blamed or found to be guilty before God and His
heavenly holiness. For according to this legal precedent,
As stated in Romans 5, it is through the one man, Christ Jesus,
that all of the elect unto eternal salvation are cleansed from their
sins and made clean and pure according to what the Bible refers
to as the law of the Lord. We have previously determined
that according to the book of the law of the Lord, Christ Jesus
the Lord is indeed the law keeper where the law of Moses from Mount
Sinai is concerned. Romans 10.4 declares and says,
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believe it. Or, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the only holy human being to ever exist and pass through this
world as a babe, as a boy, and as a man that was, is, and will
forever remain as being the holy end, or the holy aim, or the
holy goal of the law of Moses. In accordance with the law of
the Lord, Jesus is the only law keeper, the only one. And because of this wonderful
legal precedent of the law of the Lord that is stated in Romans
5, he is the only law keeper that is necessary to be an adequate
and acceptable and eternally able representative and substitute
for all of God's elect. For as fallen and sinful Adam
is the head of the household of all the fallen and sinful
human race, making the tragedy of his one sin a catastrophe
for all mankind, even so is the Lord Jesus Christ the head of
the household of all the elect and eternally loved and redeemed
from out of fallen humanity. making the victory of His holy
life and His sin-atoning and redeeming death a conquering
victory for all who have been chosen to be saved. And by the same token, Jesus
is the only lawgiver where the law of the Lord from Mount Zion
is concerned. When Father Jacob blessed and
prophesied concerning his son Judah, who is an Old Testament
type of reference to Jesus, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
Jacob said, the scepter, that is the ruling scepter, shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh. The pacificator, the one who
brings peace, come. And unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. Genesis 49, verse 10. It is also
written from both Psalm 60, verse 7 and Psalm 108, verse 8, that
Judah is my lawgiver, God says. Once again, referring to the
Lord Jesus. And then there is written from
Isaiah 33, 22, for the Lord is our judge. The
Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our King. He will
save us. But we asked the question, exactly
where is it stated in scripture that it was eternally purposed
and divinely designed for the Lord Jesus Christ to be such
a great and wonderful Savior, day and night ruling over us
according to the testimonies and precepts and statutes and
commands of the law of the Lord. The law of the Lord is most succinctly
described throughout the epistle of Hebrews. As we noted earlier,
right from chapter one of Hebrews, the Lord Jesus Christ, God's
eternal and only begotten son, is contrasted with all the prophets
of the Old Testament times and is focused upon as being the
only one through whom God now communicates unto his people,
directly from his son. It is He who is revealed as right
now occupying His eternal throne in heavenly glory and who left
it for only so long as it took Him to by Himself purge our sins,
make purification for our sins through suffering for us as God's
acceptable holy man sacrifice for our sins. From chapter 2,
we see that Christ, having accomplished this atonement on our behalf,
he has had all things in all of creation put under his sovereign
subjection or rule and authority. This includes the devil. For
Christ coming and becoming man through the incarnation was the
devil's certain and complete defeat. And at the same time,
the saints, certain and complete victory. To understand the law of the
Lord is to understand the sovereign rule of the Lord over all his
house. And chapter three of Hebrews
tells us that we who are his are his house. We are His house
if we have had the grace of faith spiritually mixed and divinely
bestowed into the regenerating, soul-saving, and life-transforming
experience of our hearing the gospel of the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ preached unto us. Chapter 4 declares that the Word
of God, which is the book of the law of the Lord in its entirety
from Genesis to Revelation, is to be the revelatory source of
the truth that Jesus, as the eternal Son of God, is the sovereign,
merciful, and faithful Great High Priest of our confession
of faith in Him. We are ever always under His
rule and legal authority over us as our substitute and our
eternal surety at all times. Frankly, we wouldn't want that
to be any other way. It is a comforting rest to truly
grasp and understand this particular truth. And we should be prayerfully
laboring to do so. He is the only holy man substitute
and sacrifice for all of us collectively. He is the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. And since He is also the eternal
Son of God, of the great triune God, He is involved in and governs
all His law, by His law, that's the law of the Lord, every minute
detail of our entire earthly existence. He governs us for our best good
throughout all time and eternity. The troubles you've been having,
Marianne, these last couple of weeks, Christ has been sovereignly governing
and bringing you through it according to what the Word of God refers
to as the law of the Lord. Not the law of Moses, but the
law of the Lord. Then chapter 5 of Hebrews goes
on in explaining about the Levitical priesthood as we see it under
the mosaic code of law and covenant. We see that it was officiated
by fallen men, just like ourselves. It's true that these men were
for the most part humble men who were appointed by God, but
because they were also fallen men and not separate from sinners. They were continually compassed
about by sinful infirmities. And they were only able to provide
a shadow of a sacrificial substitute and a type of representation
and intercession for us before holy God. Therefore, they could
not possibly be eternally effective for us in their appointed earthly
priestly office. That monumental task requires
a different kind or quality of priest according to a different
law. From here, we come to chapter
6. In this chapter, there is declared the immutability or
the unchangeableness of both the counsel and the oath of God. that it is virtually impossible
for God to lie. He is holy. Titus 1, 1 and 2
says, "...to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging
of the truth, which is after godliness, in hope of eternal
life, which God that cannot lie promised." Literally before the
eternal times. When was that? That's the date
of His promise to us. Wow. And it is this truth that
provides for us an eternally sure and steadfast hope. According to Hebrews 6. 1 Timothy 1.1 says, The Lord
Jesus Christ who is our hope. And Hebrews 6.20 says, Whether
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, who is made and high
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This then brings us up to chapter
7 from where we will finally find
an exact answer to the question as to where it is stated in scripture
that it was eternally purposed and divinely designed for the
Lord Jesus Christ to sovereignly rule over us according to the
law of the Lord. Here again, we see why the law
of the Lord truly becomes that which is our delight. That which
is the most valuable thing in our life and experience. And
walk and meditations through this fallen world. Just as the
first Psalm declares. Remember, blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful,
but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in His law doth
He meditate day and night. Chapter 7 of Hebrews is right
in the middle of Hebrews. There are six chapters before
it and six chapters after it. I don't know what the literary
chiastic structure of Hebrews actually is, but it appears from
Just a cursory examination of that, the apex is right in chapter
7, and I think it's right at a particular verse. Chapter 7 is for the most part
the very apex of the whole epistle. as far as what it is divinely
intended to communicate unto us regarding the all-governing
law of the Lord. It reveals how the law of the
Lord spans through the whole age and history of redemption. When you get to chapter 11, it
starts in on that list that covers the gamut from antediluvian patriarchs
all the way through. Their lives are living witnesses
of having been governed by a greater law. Hopefully we'll be able
to eventually show this. For this morning, I want to point
out that the priestly order of Melchizedek is going to be the
main point. Now Melchizedek is mentioned
nine times in Hebrews, six of which are found here in chapter
seven. The Holy Spirit thereby signifying the important role
that he plays in revealing the eternal nature of Christ, acting
as the high priest for all those chosen unto eternal salvation. Hebrews 7 verses 1-3 begins a
detailed description of what actually happened when Melchizedek
met Abraham. It says, For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham,
returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him. to whom also Abraham gave a tenth
from all." That's from all his victory spoils. Then it describes, first indeed
being interpreted, king of righteousness. And then also, king of Salem,
which is king of peace. Without father, without mother,
without genealogy. without written genealogy, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto
the Son of God, abideth a priest continually or perpetually. Now that this particular encounter
is described in the particular manner in which it is, is both
significant and relevant and similar to the way that Christ
truly comes into our lives. For it reminds us of how the
Lord Jesus Christ, through circumstances that He providentially controls,
encounters us. He, as it were, invades our space
in this life. And He blesses us. with just
His sovereign and peaceful presence. Verse 4 continues with the exhortation. It says, Now consider, that is,
now be a spectator of and discern how great this man was. Now the added words, man was,
because they are indeed added, they're not in the original.
It's just simply, how great this. But for English translation,
they put in man was. And this only lends, these words
only lend themselves to enhance the mystery that shrouds around
who Melchizedek truly was. And then it says, unto whom even
the patriarch Abraham, this is the statement of scripture, right
out of verse four. Unto whom even the patriarch,
patriarch of whom? You and I. Even the patriarch Abraham gave
a tenth of the best of the spoils. Abraham had just been through
a bloody battle. The Bible calls it a slaughter. Abraham and his
318, they were greatly outnumbered,
took on all these four kings and their armies, ambushed them
in the midst of the night, and they didn't spare. They didn't
go in to take prisoners. They went in to rescue, and Lot
was on Abraham's mind. He was going to, whatever it
took, rescue his nephew, who was also among those that is
referred to in Scripture as Righteous Lot. He's justified. He's one
of God's elect. God put this on Abraham's heart
to do. We don't have any other indication
of Abraham raising a hand or even intending to raise a hand. In fact, we see more of a coward
in Abraham than a man of such staunch, bold bravery. And he went in and slaughtered
them. He killed them. And right after that, He meets the king of Sodom who
said, take all that they took. You can have all the stuff. Just let our people go, let our
people come back. And Abraham says, no, I vowed
before God I wouldn't take a cent. I'm not going to. His allies, his servants, he
says, they can take of the spoils, but I'm content to rescue my
nephew. He calls him his brother. The
scripture calls him his brother. They were brothers in Christ. But then, as he travels on, bang! As if from out of nowhere, he
comes around a corner and there's Melchizedek. Who is that? What is he? There's been so many
stories and conjectures and theological musings. MacArthur says, oh,
it's not a theophany. I don't know what he knows about
it. Really? He doesn't know any more about
it than I do. You look, you consider, you be
a spectator of this and you discern who he was. He was of the Lord. We can say that. It was of the
Lord's doing because this lays down a precedent that we're going to see unfold
from Hebrews 7 that's remarkable. that affects us in the New Covenant
especially. But the fact remains that Scripture
gives no real conclusive statement as to who this godly priest truly
is or was. It only describes him with Christ-like
qualities. And his having Christ-like communion
with bread and wine. that only serve to stir up and
stimulate our regenerated and renewed minds. Whether it is
believed that Melchizedek was a theophany, that's a pre-incarnate
visitation of the Son of God or not, his meeting up with Abraham
when he did, like he did, and acting the part of a priest of
the Most High God as he did, serves to profoundly impact especially
under the new covenant, the pure and proper way of understanding
the purity of the gospel of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the law of the Lord that rules over us. Plus, what we
have going on here is the same legal precedent of the law of
the Lord laid down in Romans 5 in which one man affects the
state of being and activity of the many. For all who are of
the faith of faithful Abraham are heirs according to the promise
that God made unto him. For God's blessings unto Abraham
were to Abraham and his seed." Verses 5 through 10, Hebrews
5, continue to elaborate on this point by reminding us. And verily,
or truly, they that are of the sons of Levi, under the Mosaic
economy, who receive the office of the priesthood, they don't apply for it, they
receive it. That is, according to Aaron.
have a commandment to take tithes." Hebrews 7 is pointing this out.
Have a commandment to take tithes. Or literally, they have an authoritative
prescription laid upon them to act as a creditor of the people. The Levites were
not to make their living off the land or by flocks or by skilled
craftsmanship and construction, they were to tend to the matters
of the temple and the ministry of the Old Testament type of
the gospel. That's all they were to do. And
God says, you will take a tenth as a tithe from every other tribe. And He commanded the other tribes,
you give it. They're going to take it and
you're going to give it. And that was to be their sole support.
And of that tenth that the Levites took, they were to give a tenth
to the Lord. No one was accepted. That's the
law of the Lord. and they were to officiate in
the precise manner, consecrated to do so in a ceremonial way. They were to officiate from the
altar to the laver, and to the holy place, and the table of
showbread, baking bread, and the golden lampstand keeping
that lamp lit, and the incense of God's special making and command,
prescription, Always, continually, perpetually, the smoke of that
was to go and fill up the holy place and even into the Holy
of Holies. Everything was to be done in
a precise and particular way because it had everything to
do with the glory of Christ and His eternal atonement for our
sins. His making purification for our
sins. His erasing our sinful past. It was all a type and a shadow,
but they had to follow this rigidly. And that includes the bloody
sacrifices that went on night and day and day and night. Because
the day started at 6 o'clock in the evening. They had an authoritative prescription
from the Mosaic Code to act as a creditor of the people. And
this is what it says, the next phrase, according to the law,
that's the law of Moses, as given from Mount Sinai. That is of
their brethren, that is of their many relatives from among the
other eleven tribes, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. Though Abraham be the progenitor
of them all, even so do we see a comparison among ourselves. All of us who come from the loins
of He who is the Creator and Giver of the Law of the Lord." Then verse 6, brings up the fact,
but he whose descent or he whose genealogy is not counted from
them, that is not recorded anywhere. No recorded genealogy. We don't
have a record of any mother or father or nationality even of
Melchizedek. That's even like the eternal
only begotten Son of God who is the antitype of Melchizedek. And he that is without written
genealogy received tithes from Abraham and blessed him that
had the promises. You understand what those last
seven words are reflecting? And blessed him that had the
promises. He's a part of the fulfillment of the promise. He's
blessing him. I put in here Galatians 3.29
which says, And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise. You're included. I'm included. Next, verse 7 points out, and
without all contradiction. Here's an incontrovertible point.
Here's a point of the law of the Lord that's also immutable. And it can't be argued. The less
is blessed of the better. That is, he who blesses is always
greater than the one who gets blessed. This is the law of the
Lord. And here, verily, men that die
receive tithes. the writer of the Hebrews, whom
I believe is the Apostle Paul. And what we have with the book
of Hebrews, if indeed it is Paul, is, I believe, stuff that are
the substance of the revelation of the of Christ Himself that
He came to when He was three years out in the wilderness of
Sinai and in the shadow of that mountain that He worshipped,
literally, as a Pharisee. They worshipped the law. And
Christ is revealing how that's the ministration of death. And
you're worshipping something. You're headed to hell, worshipping
that. It is holy, just, and good because
it comes from holy and just and good God, but it shows you you're
a sinner and He's got to be holy and just in regards to you. And
this covenant, this code of Moses reveals what He must do without
reservation. Unreserved, unrestrained wrath. The wages of sin is death. The strength of sin is the law
of Moses. And Paul sees this beautiful
picture. His eyes are taken off of Sinai
and directed towards Zion and the law of the Lord. which spared him when he was
in his very presence. And the light that was so bright,
it could have snuffed his life out. But it didn't. And under the law of Moses, men
that die, fallen men, receive tithes. But there, back there, with Abraham and
Melchizedek, he receiveth them, and those words were also added,
of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. That is, Melchizedek
is being once again likened unto the Son of God, who lives. And as I may so say, the writer
of the Hebrews tells us, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, who
receiveth tithes under the Mosaic code, That's how he makes his
living. He is legally bound to act as
a creditor and take 10% from all the families of all the other
11 tribes. He who receiveth tithes paid
tithes through Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of
his father when Melchizedek met him." He wasn't even imagined in Abraham's mind and thinking.
Neither were you and I in Adam's mind and thinking when he sinned. That's that legal precedent.
It's damning on the one side, But my, it's glorious and blessing
on the other." And here too, the Levites all fulfilled, had
fulfilled through them the law of the Lord even when they weren't
around. That's the law of the Lord. It
enters into a dimension completely outside The realm in which we
can normally comprehend. It's so wonderful. The one doing it for the many
by substitution. Now we're going to see how all
of this type and shadow portrays clearly and explicitly that which
is real. Verses 11 and 12 bring the vivid
truth right up before our faces. If indeed, therefore, perfection
were through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received
the law, that is, under the earthly order of the people were taught
the law of Moses. For the Levite priests taught
the people, by word and by example, adherence to the prescriptions
of the law. And the whole system that they
were a part of was by no means perfect. Perfection wasn't through
them. For if it was, Hebrews 11 asks,
what further need was there that another priest should rise according
to the order, that is according to the divine arrangement and
characteristic dignity of the order of Melchizedek? Even as Psalm 110.4 prophesied
when it says, The Lord swear, there's the oath, the immutable
oath. The Lord swear and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever. He's declaring this to Christ,
of Christ. Thou art a priest forever according
to the order of Melchizedek. And Hebrews 7.11 says, and not
be called according to the order of Aaron. What further need was
there that another priest should rise according to the order of
Melchizedek and not be called according to the order of Aaron? Next verse. comes the blatant statement of
truth concerning the law of the Lord. And the all-governing truth
that encompasses what is being scripturally declared here is
the fact that from the pure, sovereign
perspective of the great and undiminished glory of Christ,
whatever in time happens where the history of the fallen age
of sin and death is concerned, It is determined by what has
already been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ in and
for eternity. Now, I don't want any misunderstanding
of what's being stated here. I'm going to read this again.
The all-governing truth, sovereign truth, that encompasses what
is being scripturally declared here, that surrounds it, that
it's founded upon, is the fact that from the pure, sovereign
perspective of the undiminished glory of Christ, whatever in
time happens, where the history of the fallen age of sin and
death is concerned, and all its individuals in all of their details,
It's determined by what has already been accomplished by the Lord
Jesus Christ in and for eternity. Therefore, Hebrews 7, and we're
only going to be able to go down through verse 19. We're going
to focus on 12 here and go on to verse 19, but that's all I'm
going to have time for. Verse 12 plainly says, look at
these words. for the priesthood, that's the
Mosaic priesthood, being changed. There is made of necessity a
change also of law. You see that? If ever there's a one phrase
that I think is the sum total of what's being described and
communicated from the whole epistle of Hebrews. It's this verse right
here. And once again, commentators
have worked their amazing magic on pouring in the law of Moses,
even in here. Somehow or another coming out
with a change of law, but it's still the same. Understand that this remarkable
statement pertains not only to the pre-substitute but also to
all those who are brought to God by Him." See, the priest,
the Levitical priesthood, the priest was to act as a substitute
for the one that brought the lamb out of their flocks. They
had to find one without blemish. And the priests that would officiate
at the altar, they'd bring the lamb and then they would all
examine. They would look and they'd make sure there's no blemishes.
It's not an acceptable... You didn't see that? Go get another
one. Next. They acted, if their sacrifice
was unblemished, then they could go through the, for lack of a better word, charade.
They could go through the motions of killing the lamb, sprinkling
blood on the four horns of the altar, signifying the power catching all the blood in a basin
so that none would fall on the ground where they could trample
it underfoot, and perform the sacrificial ceremony in direct,
precise conformance to the law of Moses, which directed all
these things. But the priest was the substitute. He was taking the journey from
the sacrifice. Because those of Naphtali couldn't remember all the things
that a priest had to do. They weren't expected to. For all practical purposes, that's
what they paid them for. They were to learn what the sacrificial
system demanded in its entirety and precisely, and they were
to follow it every time, every time, every day. They would be spelled only because
there was many of them. There were many of the priesthood.
They lived in Solomon's temple when that temple was built. They
had apartments. They lived there. whatever their
responsibilities were. So this change, what verse 12
says, doesn't just affect the priest substitute, but because
of the importance of the priest to the people, it affects them
as well. And it goes on to say of the
Lord Jesus, verse 13, For He of whom these things are spoken
pertaineth to another tribe. And this is without a doubt Christ
Jesus, of which, or literally from which tribe no man gave
attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah. I love the way it words that. It is evident that our Lord sprang
out of Judah, of which tribe, or literally, as to which tribe,
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. When Moses was addressing
the Levites, he's giving them the precise order of all the
things. He never said a word about that to Judah. Moses was commanded to speak
only to Levi concerning the priesthood. Verse 15, and it is far more
super abundantly evident for that after the similitude of
Melchizedek, there arises another priest, or a different priest.
That word, another, literally is different. A different priest
who is made not according, verse 16, who is made not according
to the law of a carnal commandment, not according to the law of Moses, but according to the power of
an endless life, like the eternal Son of God." Because that phrase
that describes endless life means literally indissoluble and eternal
life. That's literally the power of
God. For he, that is God, testifieth, Thou art a priest forever." Aiston Aionah, according to the order, according
to the characteristic dignity and divine arrangement of Melchizedek. Then verse 18 boldly continues
by stating, for there is a disannoying. The literal translation of that
word in the original is cancellation. There is a big X by God written. on the commandment going before,
that is, the authoritative prescription that was given before through
Moses. Why? Because of the weakness and unprofitableness
thereof. Like Romans 8 says, for what
the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh. sending His own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Verse
19, for the law, that's the law of Moses, made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did. Now, you understand
that phrase? There's your perfection. There's
my perfection before God. It says, the bringing in of a
better hope, whatever that is, whatever that hope is. And we
already have noted what 1 Timothy 1.1 says, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is our hope, He has made us holy and perfect before God, by the which we draw nigh unto
God. By the witch, even right now
in the present, we are drawn near to God. We are drawn near
unto God. We, corrupt, defiled, sinful
human beings who just daily show the death that we are in bondage
to. We are all headed to death. But our inward man that the Word
of God says is renewed every day. It's renewed in the knowledge.
It's renewed in the understanding that Jesus Christ is our Lord
and our Savior. And His grace, His grace is what
rules over us from His throne. We boldly approach His ruling
sovereign throne of grace. And we find not condemnation. No, there is therefore now no
condemnation. We find compassion and mercy. We find it for ourselves and
we find it for those whom we intercede for because God has
laid it upon our heart to bring them up before Him. So, in other words, The Lord
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. For Him to become the eternal
High Priest of Holy God and the only sovereign Savior, substitute,
sacrifice for all of His spiritual progeny in and out from fallen
humanity. must of necessity mean that they
are therefore ruled and governed for both time and eternity by
another law, a different law than the law of Moses. That other
law is scripturally referred to as the law of the Lord. And
it includes the law of Moses that declares unto all the world
that They are cursed, but it overrules it and cancels it out
completely where the saints are concerned. Why? Even because the law of the Lord
lays down the eternal statement of the legal precedent of the
eternal accomplishment and holy qualifications of the Lord Jesus
Christ as our eternal High Priest, of which we will continue to
elaborate on at another time. Praise is all glorious.