I want us to consider the Lord
Jesus Christ. Wouldn't it be a blessing if
God enables us to truly consider Him? And I want us to consider
Him in His faithfulness, in His glory, in His Sonship, and in
His house. and you'll see that as we read
this passage of scripture together Hebrews chapter 3 verses 1 through
6 wherefore holy brethren partakers of the heavenly calling consider that means consider closely perceive
clearly, consider the apostle and the 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 are to be spoken afterward, but Christ as a son over his
own house. Whose house are we if we hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end? Now, if you love somebody, you
like to think about them, don't you? You like to consider them. If you esteem them very highly,
it is a pleasure to you to think of that person and know that
God would enable us truly to consider the Lord Jesus Christ. To consider means to consider
closely, to perceive clearly, to understand fully. It's also translated by the words
behold, discover, and perceive. Consider Christ. Perceive the
Lord Jesus Christ. Discover the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Lord Jesus Christ,
the apostle, the sent one, and the high priest of our confession. Now, like I've already announced
in our text, there are four things the writer tells us to consider.
His faithfulness, his glory, his sonship, and his
house. and know that God the Holy Spirit
would enable us truly to consider these things. Now first let's
consider the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now when
he says, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession
Christ Jesus, verse 2, who was faithful to him that appointed
him as also Moses was faithful in all his house. Would you turn
to Numbers chapter 12. This is what this is a reference
to. Numbers chapter 12. This is an interesting passage
of scripture. Numbers chapter 12, beginning
in verse 1, and Mariam and Aaron spake against Moses. They criticized him because of
the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an
Ethiopian woman. They spoke against him about
this, and they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?
And the Lord heard it. You know, he hears everything,
doesn't he? He heard this criticism. Now
the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the
face of the earth. And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and
said unto Aaron, and unto Mariam, Come out, ye three, into the
tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out, and
the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the
door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Mary. And they both
came forth. Now this is an appearance of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is who is appearing at this
time. And he said, Hear now my word, if there be a prophet among
you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and
I'll speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who
is faithful. in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to
mouth, even apparently and not in dark speeches, and the similitude
of the Lord shall he behold. Wherefore then were ye not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against them, and he departed." You can go on reading
in that passage of scripture what took place. Now Miriam was
turned into a leper for a week and had to stay without the camp. But Moses was faithful. What was Moses' job? Moses' job
was to do exactly what God told him to do. He was to give the
very words of God. There was no room for freelancing,
no room for poetic license, no creativity was needed. Just make
it exactly as I said. He said, see that you make all
things according to the pattern shown thee on the mount. When
God gave him words to speak, what did he do? He spake the
very words of God. When God told him what to write
down, what did he do? He didn't give his interpretation
of anything. He simply wrote down the very
words of God. He dictated what God said. A
faithful messenger does what? A faithful messenger delivers
the message exactly as it was delivered to him. That's what
a faithful messenger does. Moses was faithful. Now this
word faithful means two things. If you're faithful, that means
you believe and you can be believed. You trust and you can be trusted. You rely and you can be relied
upon. You yourself depend. You have
the capacity of faith. You believe. You depend. And
you can be depended on. Every believer is faithful. Every believer is called the
faithful in Christ Jesus. Every believer believes, and
every believer can be believed. They're honest, made so by the
grace of God. In their spirit there is no guile.
They're honest. men and women, every believer
without exception. But this is most especially true
of the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. He is utterly faithful. I love to think of His faithfulness. He did all that the Father called
upon Him to do. And His faithfulness can best
be summed up by the words of Job. Though He slay me, yet will
I trust Him. And isn't that exactly what was
going on on the cross? Our Lord said, Though He slay
me, and He did slay Him. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. He said, Lo, I come in the volume
of the book. It is written of me. I delight
to do thy will, O God. And everything he did was a faithfully
carrying out of the Father's will. When he kept the law, he
was doing the Father's will. When he was nailed to that cross,
he was doing the Father's will. When He was raised from the dead,
He was doing the Father's will. As He ascended back to glory,
He was doing the Father's will. As He right now stands as the
Great High Priest of His people, making intercession for them
and representing them, He's doing the Father's will. Now somebody
had to trust God perfectly. Have you? I want you to think how great
your unbelief is. How great my unbelief is. How difficult it
is for us to trust Him completely. It's so sinful. It's so evil.
But somebody had to trust Him completely. And our Lord did. You know, I think of on the cross. He said, it didn't seem like
the Lord was His Father. It didn't seem like the Lord,
everything was against that as far as what He could see. But
yet He could say, Father, forgive them. They know not what they
do. Now, you couldn't see that God
was his father at that time, could you? As a matter of fact,
in one of his sayings from the cross, he says, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? He couldn't even call him father
at this time because he was made sin, but yet he said, my God,
my God. He trusted his God and his father,
even when there was nothing you could see that the father was
for him. All he could see and feel was
the wrath and righteous indignation of God. Yet he says, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. You know, things go wrong for
us just a little bit. We think, well, is God against
me? Has he forsaken me? What's wrong? Our Lord didn't
do that. He trusted God completely. He believed perfectly, and we're
saved by His faithfulness. You see, somebody had to trust
God perfectly. He did. He did. Now, not only
is Christ utterly faithful, He can be believed. He's utterly
trustworthy. He's utterly reliable. He cannot lie. He has the power
to make sure all His promises come to pass. He is the object
of faith, isn't He? He Himself is the object of our
faith. He is utterly faithful. Don't you love thinking of the
faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ? He's the faithful God. He believed God and He can be
believed. I love those very short scriptures. I think of John 4, where he said
to that woman at the well, he said, Woman, believe me. Believe me. Consider his glory. Hebrews chapter
2, or chapter 3, verse 3. For this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, for this glorious man who is God, I like the way man
is in italics. The translators put it there.
For this, kind of like the angel said, that holy thing which is
in thee. I mean, how can we even give
a description of Him? He's so glorious. This. For this
man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses inasmuch as
he who hath built the house Have more honor than the house. For
every house is built by some man, but he that builds all things
is God. Now, let's follow the analogy.
A beautiful house. Everybody here appreciates a
beautiful house, well-built house, firm foundation, superstructure
is beautiful, the architecture is appealing. Everybody likes
a beautiful house. Now, in a beautiful house, take
the prettiest house you've ever seen. Who gets the glory for
the house? The house? Or the man who built
the house? That's easy to answer that, isn't
it? How much glory does the house get? None. What did that house do to make
itself beautiful? Absolutely nothing. It was the
man who built the house. Who gets the credit? The man
who built the house. The house gets 0% of the credit
for its building or its beauty. The Lord Jesus Christ gets all
the glory. Now you think of the house of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Look in verse 6. But Christ has
a son over his own house. Whose house are we? If we hold
fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end,
we're going to talk about that more in a moment, how we are
the house of God. But you think of this house of
God, it's the church, it's every believer. And you think of the
beauty of every believer. This is something that is just
so glorious. Every believer is perfectly conformed
to the image of Jesus Christ. How beautiful is that? However
beautiful Christ is, that's how beautiful every believer is.
I'm justified. I'm sanctified. I'm glorified. Every believer is beautiful in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We have such reason for such
confidence. The Lord doesn't look at us and
say, well, I'm going to love them for Christ's sake even though
they're so ugly. No, not at all. Not at all. Every believer is
perfect in Christ Jesus. And that's how God sees every
believer because that's how every believer is. Now, how much credit
do they get for that? Your beauty in Christ, the righteousness
you have. How much credit do you get for
that? Absolutely none. All credit goes to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He gives all the glory in salvation
and absolutely none goes to us. Now you think of His glory, His
essential glory. God the Son. He builds all things
because He's God. Look in Hebrews chapter 1 verse
2. Verse 1, God who at sundry times
and diverse manners, spake in times passed unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person. Now that's the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ in his person. He's the very glory of God. He's the creator of all things.
But there's also a glory that he achieved that he would not
have achieved unless he obeyed his father, unless he trusted
his father completely. Look in Philippians chapter 2. I love to think of the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, heaven will be beholding
His glory. Would that be happening to you? Beholding His glory. What if
all you had to do there was behold His glory? He said, Father I
will that they which you have given me be with me where I am
that they may behold my glory. Look here in Philippians chapter
2. Beginning in verse 5, Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, Thought
it not robbery, thought it not a thing to be grasped for, to
be equal with God. Now the reason he didn't think
it was robbery to be equal with God, because he was equal with
God. He is God. He's God the Son. All, he said,
I and my Father are one. He's equal with God. Now let's
go on reading. Verse 7, But, what did he do? He made himself
of no reputation. You know everybody's so concerned
about their reputation, how other people view them. I am. I want folks to like me. I want
to be well thought of. You do too. Somebody says, I
don't care what anybody thinks. Don't blame me for a second.
But he made himself of no reputation. He emptied Himself. Go on reading. And He took upon Him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being
found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The Lord
said, Go, let Him nail you to that cross. He said, Yes, Father.
he obeyed his father. 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 every tongue
is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. Now in the salvation of the sinner,
He gets all the glory. You see, I was chosen in Him. I was redeemed by Him. I was justified by Him. I was called by Him. I'm preserved by Him. I'm made conformable to His image. Now He gets all the glory in
salvation. His glory. Heaven is beholding
His glory. Consider His glory. He gets it
all, doesn't He? You know, every believer wants
Him. Every believer says, not unto us. Not unto us, but unto
Thy name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. Consider
His glory. Now look back in our text in
Hebrews chapter 3. Let's read verse 5. And Moses verily was
faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after, but Christ as a
son over his own house. Now let's consider his sonship. Moses was a servant, Christ is
the son. Now, we are sons of God. It was read this morning in 1
John chapter 3. Beloved, behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. That means God is my Father. He's for me. If God be for us,
Who can be against us? We pray our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. I'm a child of God. Our sonship is found in His sonship. You see, we are sons, but we
are not the only begotten sons. There's only one who fits that
description. There is only one son of whom
he says, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye him. Now he wasn't talking
about Todd or John or any of his other sons. He was talking
about the one son. the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
He is the Eternal Son, the Eternal God, the second person of the
mysterious, blessed Trinity. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. That son was not born. That son is the Eternal Son,
and He is the one who is given. He that spared not his own son,
But delivered him up for us all, hastily, not also with him freely
give us all things. Look what God the Father says
of God the Son. Look at Hebrews chapter 1 verse 5. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
thee. And again I'll be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son. And again when he bringeth in
the first begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels
of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne." This is God speaking
to the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father says to God the
Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of blackness above thy fellows."
Now that's what God the Father says to God the Son. He is the
only begotten Son. Now that word only begotten is
used five times in the New Testament. The only begotten Son. Now this begetting, this birthing,
is not an event in time, it's a fact irrespective of time. Do I understand this? No. Do
I believe it? Altogether. The Christ did not
become the Son, but necessarily and eternally is the Son and
possesses every attribute of pure Godhead. He is God the Son. You know, the power of His blood
is simply whose blood it is. It's Christ that died. It's the
Son of God. It's God the Son. You know the
reason why I believe in particular redemption and definite atonement
and successful atonement and limited atonement? Call it what
you want. It's the gospel of substitution. It's because of
who died. If he died for you, you must
be saved. You can't be anything but saved
if he died for you. If this is bowed to who he is,
the doctrine becomes a mute point. You'll believe in his successful
redemption if you believe who he is. He is the eternal Son
of God. Consider the apostle and high
priest of our profession, God the Son, the Son who abides forever. The Ethiopian eunuch said, See,
here's what, or what hinders me from being baptized. If there's
a reason why I shouldn't be baptized, I want to know. And Philip answered
him, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And you
know how he answered? I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. You know what? I do too. Do you believe He's God the Son?
If you do, God revealed that to you. Do you really believe
that He's God over all, blessed forever? Do you believe that
He's the mighty creator, the sovereign of the universe, the
one in whose hands are all things? The One who of Him and through
Him and to Him are all things. Do you believe that? Oh my soul,
God revealed that to you. You've been given a revelation
that is so, so very special, there's not even a word for it.
Consider His Sonship. Who is He that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God,
dwelleth in him. Well, I'm going to take an opportunity
right now, by the grace of God, I'm confessing that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. Consider His Sonship, and lastly,
consider His house. Look in verse 6. But Christ as
a Son over His own house, whose house are we? If we hold fast
the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope, firm unto the end. Whose house are we? Now consider
well this house. Consider well this house. You
know where the house of God is? Right here. In His people. The church of the living God
which is the house of God. That's what 1st Timothy 3.15
says. The church is the house. It's the dwelling place of God.
God dwells in the hearts of His people. You know someone here,
I'm glad to see you all here. I really am. I love you. I'm
glad to see you here. I'll tell you who I'm really
glad is here. I'm glad the Lord God is here. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God by His Spirit. He's here in His people. He dwells
in their hearts by faith. The believer is the body of Christ,
the house of God, the place where he lives. Paul called the church
the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Now, what I thought
about when I thought, I was trying to, the full, the church, I'm
called, you're called, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
You know, the Lord Jesus Christ wouldn't be complete without
you. You think of that. That's hard
to get hold of, isn't it? But it's so. He would be a maimed
body without you. Every single one of His people
are called the fullness of Him that filleth all things in all. But notice in our text, He gives
the maker's mark, the mark of ownership, the seal of authenticity. He says, whose house are we if,
if, that's a very important word, if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Now here's the mark of ownership.
Here's how I can tell if I'm His house. If I hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Now what's the hope? There's
a lot of things I hope. I hope that everything's working
together for good, my good and His glory because the Bible says
that and I believe it. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. I have a hope that everything's working together
for my good. But here's the core of my hope. I have a hope. Hope is a confident expectation
with regard to the future. I made mention of this this morning.
I have a hope that God is going to say to me, well done, thou
good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord. Now, what is the confidence or
the ground of that hope? This is what I'm holding on to.
I am holding on to this, that the life of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is my righteousness
before God. I'm holding on to the fact that
His blood actually makes me holy. All my sin is washed away and
I'm pure in God's sight. That's why I'm going to hear.
And my hope is that he's going to say to me, well done. Believe
that. Don't say, believe it. Believe
it. It's the truth. It's what every
believer will hear. Now, we're going to hear that
if we hold the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope. Now that word rejoicing is glorying. I'm glorying in this. This is
what I'm boasting in. This is what I have confidence
in. This is what I'm resting in. That when Jesus Christ said,
it is finished, my salvation was finished. Now, that's what
I'm glorying in. I'm glorying in the cross. Paul
said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not glorying anywhere else.
Now, we're made partakers of Christ. Look down at verse 14
of this same chapter. For we're made partakers of Christ
if we hold the beginning of our confidence. Steadfast to the
end. Now Christ is the beginning of
my confidence in all things. For instance, I believe I'm chosen
of God. I believe I'm one of the elect.
But it's because I was chosen in Him. Christ is the beginning
of election. I believe I'm redeemed. Because
He redeemed me. He's the beginning. I believe
I'm regenerated. It's because He gave me life.
I've got faith. It's because He gave me that
faith. He's the beginning of my confidence. He's the beginning,
He's the middle, He's the end, and He's everything else. Christ
is all. Now that is the confidence I
hold on to. He is the beginning of my confidence. And we're made partakers of Christ
if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
I love to think of the beginning of our confidence in this light. I don't know when it was I first
believed. I can't tell you. But I do know this about when
I first believed. When I first believed, I didn't
have one single evidence about myself that would make me think
I was saved. Not even one. I didn't have any experience
to look to. All I had was Christ. And you know what? I'm telling
you the truth. It hadn't changed a bit. That's
all I am. I'm holding the beginning of
my confidence. He is the beginning of my confidence.
And by the grace of God, I hold the beginning of my confidence
steadfast all the way to the end. Now, consider well his house. And here's the evidence of being
his house. You hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope, firm unto the end. Now this house
is a beautiful house. How beautiful is Jesus Christ. How beautiful this house is.
Now you consider the apostle and high priest of our profession,
you consider his faithfulness, you consider his glory, you consider
his sonship, and you consider his house. Believers are so special. Indwelt by the Spirit of God,
children of God, united to Christ by faith, consider well His house. Let's pray together.