Before we turn to Hebrews 8,
I want you to look at a scripture found in 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15.1. And Paul says, Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel. which I preached to you, which also you have received,
wherein you stand, and by which also you are saved, if you keep
in memory what I preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered unto you," and
here is that gospel, that which I also received. It
didn't originate with me. I was taught this gospel by the
Son of God. How did Christ die for our sins? That's the gospel. He died for
our sins according to the scriptures. What are the scriptures? Well,
Pastor, you're reading them there. No. I'm reading the New Testament,
the New Covenant, the scriptures that were written by Paul and
the apostles, but he's talking about the Old Testament. He said
he died for our sins according to the promises and the prophecies
and the patterns and the pictures set forth in the Old Testament.
I told my class this morning, you cannot understand or even
believe the New Testament if you don't know anything about
the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
Everything God accomplished and performed through Christ and
the apostles, through the work of our Lord, was prophesied and
promised in the Old Testament and pictured. Everything in the
New Testament is a fulfillment of what was written. He died
for our sins according to the scriptures. He was made of the
seed of David according to the scriptures. He was born of a
virgin, according to the scriptures it says, the Lord himself will
give you a sign, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son. And if someone's born claiming
to be the son of God, he's not born of a virgin, he's not the
son of God, according to the scriptures. He died for our sins
according to the scriptures. Moses took a lamb without spot
or blemish, Christ without sin. put it up four days and observed
it, as Christ walked on this earth thirty-three and a half
years, being tested, tried by heaven, earth, and hell, and
was without spot or blemish. And then the Lamb was slain.
His blood shed, his body roasted with fire as he shed his blood
and roasted his body with fire on the cross of Calvary. He died
for our sins according to the scriptures, which said he was
wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity. So
the man that ignores the Old Testament will never understand
the New. He died for our sins according
to the scriptures. And that he was buried and rose again the
third day according to the scriptures. As Jonah was three days in the
belly of the fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days in the
heart of the earth. And anyone, it's according to
the scriptures, and anyone who studies the Old Testament and knows anything about the
Old Testament and can get beyond the personalities of the Old
Testament, the Old Testament's not bragging on David, it's bragging
on David's Lord. The Old Testament's not exalting
Daniel, who purposed in his heart, it's exalting God who put the
purpose in his heart. It's not exalting the law. The
law was not given to save anybody. It was given to save a people
who were lost. The law is a schoolmaster. It
brings us to Christ. And the law is a condemning factor. It doesn't put you at the feet
of Christ, stripped and broken in faith. And anyone who can get past the
personalities of the Old Testament and the kingdoms and all the
Jewish history will find their three essentials laid down in
the Old Testament, which insisted upon the death of Christ and
his resurrection, which absolutely required the coming of Christ
and the sufferings of Christ and the obedience of Christ and
the blood of Christ. These three essentials, which
have always stood from the day Adam fell to this present day,
three essentials, for anyone who would approach a holy God,
a living God, who Paul said is the blessed and only potentate,
who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath
immortality, who dwells in holiness and a light to which no man can whom no man has ever seen or
can see. Let me read that again. Almighty God is the blessed only
potentate, King of kings, Lord of lords, who hath only hath
immortality, who dwells in holiness and a light which no man can
approach unto, whom no man hath ever seen or can ever see, to
whom be honor and power everlasting." That's 1 Timothy 6, verse 16. But that God has laid down three
essentials to us approaching him in worship, seeking mercy,
grace, or even come into his presence or even have any dealings
with him. There are three essentials laid
down in the Old Testament. The first is the place. God chose a place for those folks
to meet him. Turn to Exodus, chapter 25. He
chose a place, and no other place will do. He chose a place, Exodus
25. Let's read a few verses here, Exodus
25, verse 10. Now, verse 10, Exodus 25, Thou
shalt make an ark of shedim wood, two cubits and a half shall be
the length, the cubits eighteen inches, a cubit and a half the
width, and a cubit and a half the height. Verse 16, And thou
shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. What's
that testimony? It's the Ten Commandments on
two tables of stone. The first one, God wrote, Moses
broke. God said, Moses, hew two more
tablets and bring them up here, and I'll put the commandments
on them, and then you put them in that ark. You can get the
size of those tables of stone by the size of that ark. Two
and a half cubits long means two times 18 inches would be
36 inches. That's a yard, isn't it? And
another nine inches would be a yard and forty-two inches,
wasn't it? Forty-four, forty-five inches
long. That's how high and long the
ark was. So you get the size of those
tables of stone. Put them in the ark. Now verse
17, And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits
and a half shall be the length, exactly the length of the ark,
a cubit and a half the breadth, exactly the width of the ark,
And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold of beaten work, shalt
thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat. And put one
cherub on one end, the other cherub on the other end, and
even of the mercy seat shalt thou make the cherubims on the
two ends thereof. Now verse 21. And thou shalt put this mercy
seat above upon the ark. There is your ark inside the
log which man has broken. offended God, put that in the
mercy seat, in the ark, and put a mercy seat on top. The word
mercy seat is propitiation. The word mercy seat is reconciliation. The word mercy seat was given
to Christ when he came. God has set him forth to be a
mercy seat, a propitiation. When the high priest went into
the Holy of Holies to offer the atonement, the blood was put
on the mercy seat. covering the broken law. Verse 21, I shall put the mercy
seat above upon the ark, and in the ark you put the testimony
that I shall give thee. And there I'll meet with you. There. That's a place, isn't
it? There. That's the only place I'll meet
you. I'll meet you where your sins are covered with blood. I'll meet you where your sins
and your iniquities and your conflict with my law is covered
and reconciled with the blood of the Lamb. That's where I'll
meet you, and that's where I'll commune with you, that's where
I'll talk with you. From above the mercy seat, between the two
cherubims, and between those cherubims the shekinah glory
of God always dwells. Now, the glory of God fills the
heaven of heavens. The heaven of heavens can't contain
him, but God was pleased to demonstrate and declare his
glory right between those cherubims on that mercy seat over that
ark. And that's where he said, I'll
meet you. And that's where I'll meet you, between the cherubims
which are upon the ark of the testimony and of all things which
I shall give thee in commandment to the children of Israel. That's
where a man will meet God, at the mercy seat. And that ark was always with
Israel. No other country had an ark,
tablets of stone, mercy seat. It always, the tabernacle was
there, and the holy of holies, the holy place, and then the
holy of holies and the mercy seat. Once a year, or here's
the second requirement to meet God. There must be a priest.
Turn to Exodus 30. Now, Moses and everybody else
didn't run into the mercy seat. There must be a priest. So he's
essential. Number one is a place. Number
two is a priest. Exodus 30. Exodus chapter 30. an altar to burn incense upon,
of shit and wood shall thou make it." Now, verse 10. And Aaron,
he's the priest, shall make an atonement upon the horns of this
altar once in a year, with the blood of the sin offering of
atonement. Once in a year shall he make
an atonement upon it, upon that mercy seat, throughout your generations.
It is most holy unto the Lord. Now turn to Leviticus 16, we're
going to talk again about this priest, this priest. And there's just one high priest
at a time. One time some more people wanted
to invade that office, and God destroyed them. But in Leviticus
16, verse 2, chapter 16, verse 2. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Speak unto Aaron thy brother," he's the high priest, "...that
he come not at all times into the holy place within the vale,
before the mercy seat." Don't come in at all times. "...which
is upon the ark, that he die not. I'll appear in the cloud
upon the mercy seat." That's his Shekinah glory. Then shall every one kill the
goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring
the blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did
with the blood of the bullet, and sprinkle it before the mercy
seat. And he shall once a year make
an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of
the children of Israel. and because of their transgressions
and all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle
of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their
uncleanness." Now listen, "...and there shall be no man in the
tabernacle of the congregation when the high priest goes in
to make an atonement in the holy place, no presence of any body
anywhere around there until he comes out and hath made an atonement
for himself." for his household and for all the congregation.
It must be a place of mercy, a place of reconciliation, a
place where the blood covered our sins. And it's got to be
a fit priest, a high priest, a man ordained of God, to come
just once a year. And nobody else has anything
to do with it, they're not even around anywhere, alone once a
year. Now, there's a third thing, and
that's the blood. Stay at Leviticus, now there
where you are, Leviticus, verse chapter 17. Chapter 17, Leviticus 17, verse
11. For the life of the flesh is
in the blood. I have given it to you upon the
altar to make atonement for your souls. It's the blood that maketh
atonement for the soul. It's the blood. Now turn to Hebrews. Let's look at chapter 9 a minute.
Hebrews chapter 9, verse 18. As the blood was a prominent
factor Back yonder in Old Testament worship. Verse 18, Hebrews 9,
Whereupon neither the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according
to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with
water, scarlet wool, hyssop, he sprinkled the book, he sprinkled
the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which
God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood
the tabernacle, the vessels of the ministry, and almost all
things were under the law purged with blood, and without the shedding
of blood there is no remission. Look back at chapter 9, verse
11. In Christ being come, a high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not this building
we've been talking about, and neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood, he entered once into the holy
place and obtain eternal redemption for us. Now then, we can look
at chapter 8 and sort of get some understanding. Paul says in chapter 8, verse
1, Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum.
This is the sum and substance of everything we've talked about.
This is the chief excellence of all the priesthood. This is
the highest and choicest of the good tidings. What is it, Paul? This is it. We, Jews and Gentiles,
we of the 21st century, we who are not under the law of types
and shadows, we who are descendants of Adam, we have a high praise. Israel had a high priest. There
was a place, there was a priest, there was a sacrifice. And we
have a high priest. We have a high priest. Let's
ask these questions. Where is the place that this
high priest ministered? Well, he answers it right here.
He sat on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.
That's the place. Christ entered not the place
made with hand, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us. So God meets us where our high
priest is, in his presence, at his right hand. Who is the priest? Well, what's his name? His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Turn over here to Hebrews 4,
verse 14. We have a great high priest that
has passed into the heavens. There is a place, the heavens,
where he is. Who is he? He is Jesus, the Son
of God. Then let us hold fast our profession.
What is his sacrifice? It's his own blood. Well, who made him the priest?
Well, God did. Turn to Hebrews 5. God made Aaron the priest of
Israel, and God made Christ our high priest, in Hebrews 5. For
every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men
in things pertaining to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices
for sin. who can have compassion on the
ignorant, on them that are out of the way, for he himself is
compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought
as for the people, so for himself to offer for sin. And no man
takes this honor for himself, but he is called of God, as was
Aaron. So also Christ, Jesus, glorified
not himself to be made our high priest, but he that said unto
him, Thou art my son. today have I begotten thee. He
made him our priest. And he says also in another place,
thou art a priest, not after the order of Abram, but after
the order of Melchizedek. Christ is not in the line of
Abram. He didn't even come from the
same tribe as Abram. He's not a descendant of Abram. His office
is not the same office Abram had. His is the office he's always
had. a priest forever after the daughter
of Melchizedek. We see that in the Old Testament,
in Genesis, when Abraham came back from the slaughter of the
kings. This was back before Aaron. This was back before the law
was given. This was back before Moses was born. Abraham was coming
back from the slaughter of the kings. And they met him, Melchizedek, The scripture says Melchizedek,
king of Salem, king of peace, priest of the Most High God.
Without mother or father, without beginning of days, without end
of days, without pedigree, they met him, Melchizedek, and blessed
him and gave him bread and wine. This wasn't an Old Testament
priest. Old Testament priests didn't bless people with bread
and wine. They blessed people when they offered blood sacrifices.
But this is Christ. He's a priest forever. Who made
him our priest? Same one that made Aaron the
priest for Israel. Type of Christ. But our God made
Christ a priest forever. Why the priest forever? Why? Because we've been his children
forever. Because the covenant of grace is forever. Because
his blood is blood shed before the foundation of the world forever. He's our priest. Well, Hebrews
8. This is the psalm. Where is the
place our priest ministers? In heaven, the presence of God.
Who is this priest? It's the God-man, Jesus Christ.
What is his sacrifice? His own blood. Who made him our
priest? He who said, Thou art my son,
this day I have begotten thee. I have set my king on the holy
hill of Zion. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit
at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.
We have a high priest. We have a place where he ministers.
And we have an atonement. And we can come to God just like
Abraham. Abel, Moses. And here in chapter 7, he identifies
and describes this priest. Hebrews 7, verse 24, listen. Now verse 23 says, There truly
were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue
by reason of death. Oh, Abel died. His priest died. But this man, Jesus Christ, because
he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. His priesthood never
changes. Verse 25, and therefore because
he has an unchangeable priesthood, he is able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by him, seeing he always, ever lives
to make intercession for them. There is no change of the guard
here. There is no change at all. These others are types so we
can understand the reality. These are pictures. So when we
meet him, we recognize him. These are scriptural promises
so that when we see the revelation of Christ, we recognize him from
the Old Testament. I see him. He's a priest like Melchizedek.
He's the woman's seed. He's the Passover lamb. He's
the city of refuge. He's the desire of all nations.
He's the serpent lifted up. He's the son of David, he's the
king. I see him from the scriptures. Identify him. And then verse
26, listen, he's holy. For such a high priest became
us, who's holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, higher
than the heavens. Then old Abram, he went into
the holy of holies, he had to make a sacrifice for his own
sins. You remember reading that a while ago? For his sins, for
his household sins, and for the congregation's sins. Christ had
no sin. He had no sin. His sacrifice
was for our sins. And he doesn't need verse 27
to daily, like those sacrifice, those high priests offered up
sacrifice, or even once a year for his own sins and then for
the people. This he did one time when he offered up himself. one
sacrifice, by one offering, he perfected forever them who believed. In verse 28, he's the only priest
made with an oath. For the law maketh men high priests
who have infirmities, failures. You remember Abram was one who
made that case. Even the best of men, man at
his best state is altogether vanity. And these men were made priests
temporarily, but this man, Jesus Christ, was made a priest, the
word of the oath, which was since the law, make it the son who
is consecrated forevermore, God, swore by himself, because he
could swear by no greater, inherit my son. He was a priest, the
only priest. the high priest, the great high
priest, the successful, effectual high priest, come up here and
sit on my right hand, and I'll make the enemies your footstool.
Look here at Hebrews 8, verse 2. He's a minister of the sanctuary
and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not made.
When we think of the tabernacle, just automatically our minds
go back to that old tabernacle, 45 feet long and 15 feet wide
and 15 feet high, wherein was that table of showbread and that
candlestick and that incense altar and the ark and the mercy
seat and the great veil. Once a year the high priest went
in to make an atonement. We think of that, but that's
gone. But our high priest is a minister
of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle. the true tabernacle. What is that tabernacle, the
true tabernacle? Well, it's where he ministers, just like the tabernacle
in which Aaron ministered was a place. In Christ, in the heaven
itself, he ministers and ever lives to make intercession. But
that tabernacle also refers to his body, his human body. He tabernacled among us. In Hebrews
10, It says in verse 5, when he comes into the world, a body
hast thou prepared me. So he ministered in a human body. The true tabernacle, his body.
We don't go to a building, this is not the church, you're the
church. This thing could burn down tomorrow, and we'd have
to meet in the parking lot under a tent, but the church is still
me. And Christ ministered in the true tabernacle, his body.
But there's a third meaning of this tabernacle, and that's the
temple of God whose temple you are. He ministers in his body. His body. Let me show you that
from Hebrews 2. Listen to this. His body, the
church. Hebrews 2, listen to this, verse
10. Hebrews 2, 10. It became him. by whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.
For both he that sanctified and they who are sanctified are all
one," all of one. And for this cause, he's not
ashamed to call us his brethren. You think about that. And he
said, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst
of the church when I sing praise to thee. Where? In heaven. In
his body? Yes, sir, in his church. In the
church, in the midst of the church, will I sing praise unto thee.
And again I'll put my trust in him, and again behold I and the
children which God has given me." Well, he ministers in the
true tabernacle. And let me tell you this, there
are no candlesticks because he's the true light. John the Baptist
said, this is the true light that lighteth every man. cometh
into the world." Our Lord said, I'm the light of the world. He
that believeth on me shall never walk in darkness. He's the light. What about that bread? No, that's
gone too. He's the true bread. Moses didn't
give you that bread. My Father gave you that bread
from heaven. I'm the true bread. He that eateth of me will never
die. On the head of the high priest
were the words, Holiness unto the Lord. Everything in type
now has turned to Exodus 28, holiness to the Lord. And because poor old Avon wasn't
holiness, it had to be written on his head. It had to be written,
because it wasn't revealed. Here in Exodus 28, verse 36. Thou shalt make a plate of pure
gold, and engrave upon it, like the engraving of a signet, Holiness
to the Lord. And thou shalt put it on a blue
lace, that it may be upon the mitre, upon the forefront of
the mitre it shall be, and put the mitre on Aaron's forehead.
And when he comes into the Holy of Holies, at least the sign
is there. He's just a man of flesh, but
Holiness to the Lord. Oh, when our great high priest
came to this earth, he didn't have to have it written anywhere.
He didn't have to wear a fish on his bumper and a sticker that
said, I love Jesus. He didn't have to have holiness
to the Lord written on his head and in his eyes. Perfectly holy. And that's what Paul called in
Ephesians 4 or 24, true holiness unto the Lord. true tabernacle, true light,
true bread, true holiness, and he has come and given us
an understanding that we may know him that is true. This is
the true God and this is eternal life. All right, verse 3, Hebrews
8, and I'll let you go in a few minutes. Every high priest is
ordained to offer gifts. and sacrifices. Their atonement
once a year wasn't the only sacrifice. There were morning, noon, and
night. Listen, there were peace offerings,
burnt offerings, trespass offerings, sin offerings, and then there
was atonement. So it's necessary that this man
has something to offer. Doesn't he? Got the place, got
the praise, what's his offer? If he's God only, if he's God
only, he has nothing to offer, because God Almighty can't die,
can't shed blood. He's got nothing to offer. If
he's man only, he's got nothing to offer, because his offering
of blood as a man wouldn't be any more than that of an animal.
And besides that, he wouldn't even be a priest. Verse 4, listen,
if he were on the earth and only a man, he wouldn't be a priest.
Why? He didn't come from the priestly
tribe. He wasn't of the tribe of Levi.
He was a tribe of Judah. He's a lion of the tribe of Judah.
He's shallow from Judah's loins. And Paul said, from Judah no
priest ever arose. But why was he from Judah? He's
the king priest. He's the royal priest, that's
right, he's the king priest, he's priest and king. Two offices
no man ever held. Christ did. But if he were on
earth, he wouldn't be a priest, so he wouldn't have anything
to offer. But over here in chapter 7, let's
turn over there a minute and look. Verse 3, verse 13, Hebrews
7, verse 13, Now he, for he of whom these things are spoken,
pertains to another tribe, of which no man ever gave attendance
at the altar. It's evident our Lord sprang
out of Judah, of which tribe Moses wrote nothing concerning
the priesthood. And it is yet far more evident
that after the similitude of Melchizedek there riseth another
priest, that's the promise, who was made not after the law of
a carnal commandment. Moses' law didn't make Christ
a priest. but after the power of an endless life. For he testified,
My son, thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.
For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment, going before
for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect. Moses, Adam, the law, all these
types and pictures made nothing perfect, put away nobody's sins.
But the bringing in of a better hope did. by which, praise heaven,
praise Christ, atone with his blood, we draw nigh to God. Now, verse 6, Hebrews 8. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator
of a better covenant established upon better promises, that all
who will will turn to the ceremonies and the types and the shadows
and the days and the duties and the human high priest. But he hath obtained a more excellent
ministry by how much also he is a mediator of a better covenant,
founded upon and established upon better promises. Old John
Kent, years ago, wrote these words. Not all the blood of beasts on
Jewish altars slain can give a guilty conscience peace or
wash away the stain. But Christ, our Heaven and Lamb,
takes all our sins away, a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood
than day. So my faith would lay her hands
on that dear head of thine, and like a penitent I stand, and
there confess my sins." Christ is our great High Priest, and
this is the song and substance of the gospel.