Month: July 2019

330. All will know God

Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

All those in the Kingdom of God will know the Lord. That Day will come when there will be no need to teach anyone about the Lord, because they will all know Him. “That Day” arrived when the Son of God appeared on the earth in the body of a human being and proclaimed: “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

From “that day” forward everyone could know the Lord, but the announcement has not been received by all. Received or not, the Kingdom is here in the person of Jesus Christ and in His Body, the Church. It is seen and received by faith: those who believe in Jesus know the Lord. These have heard the Gospel and believed it. Now they know, that is, each one has an intimate personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to love God and believe Him, for when we know Him we cannot help but love Him. Believing in Christ is knowing Christ..

The promise of knowing God has been fulfilled in those who by faith have received the Gospel. This fact is true and real, but this relational knowledge is not seen at all, seldom felt, vaguely recognized, and very underutilized by the “knowers” of God; but the truth is still true. We do know Jesus, just as God promised, and we may use that knowledge and faith more often in our regular lives. Believe the truth and use that intimate acquaintance to calm fears, relieve anxieties, remove worries, take away guilt, and destroy doubts.

Then “That Day” will come when Jesus returns to earth and usher in the Eternal State. On That Day the veil is lifted, lies are demolished, sin is destroyed, obfuscation is erased, the mess is cleaned up, and Jesus Christ is revealed in all His glory. Then we shall know Him is actual experience, and the promise is fulfilled to sight, no longer only to faith.

329. He is to us a God

Hebrews 8:10b …and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

God promises to be a God to us when He makes a new covenant with the people. He also promises that the people will be a people to God. Interesting: God is already God; He doesn’t have to promise that. But He will be a God to us. He is already that to us as well; He doesn’t have to promise that. The promise is that He will be recognized, acknowledged and worshiped as our God. We shall have no other gods before Him alone; we shall fear, love and trust in God above all things. This doesn’t actually happen: all men break the First Commandment all the time. We are always fearing, loving and trusting in other things in practical living. We are not by any means always a people to Him. We cannot act like His people, who trust in Him alone. We cannot love God by loving others unconditionally. Frankly, God is not our God and we are not His people. We want to be our own gods and our own people. How can God make this promise? But He does: He will be faithful to the promise: He will do the work of making a people who will have Him alone as their God. He did so by sending His Son. Amazing!

Luther defines “God:” a god is whatever we look to for our highest good. This is God’s promise: He is, and He will always be, a God to us. He will be our highest good, always, no matter what. Everything else is either evil or just OK, but nothing else is our highest good. He promises to think like a God, act like a God, and be a God to us in every way that we imagine a God to be. As God, He will take care of us, provide for us, protect us, love us unconditionally, forgive all sins, give live eternally, save us from all enemies, give comfort, answer prayers, and He will always and ever be good and do good to us. That’s the promise: God will act like the God we want Him to be and expect Him to be.

We need that promise, because we often think God is not doing right by us; we don’t like everything He does; we disagree with His actions or inactions (“He could heal me, but He doesn’t”); we have different ideas about what is good for me. The hardest lesson for humans to learn is that they are not God, they don’t always get what they want, and they have to submit to God’s good and gracious will and trust Him for everything. That’s hard, even impossible. So I need the promise: God will be to me a God. And because He is, we will be a people to Him. The Gospel promise does the impossible. Jesus brings us to God; now God is mine, and I am His.

328. Laws in the Heart

Hebrews 8:10a For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:….

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, sainthood the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.

This promise comes from Jeremiah and is fulfilled in the times of the New Testament. Jesus made it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts by faith. It is the Spirit who is the living law of God; He is the laws in the mind and written in the hearts.

The laws of God, God’s Moral Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, and explicated in the Sermon on the Mount, are already by nature written in the hearts of all natural men. Everyone inherently knows that there is a right and a wrong, and most people agree on the basic laws. Romans 1:15: “ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.”

If the laws are already written on the heart of all people, what does the New Covenant do when it says God will write them in their hearts? In the New Covenant God writes the His laws in the heart. “The Law” is not essentially a new revelation of something we could not know naturally. So what is it? It is the Spirit, who gives us the ability to actually keep the law. This is the promise: not to inwardly know the law, but to do it. The Law, the conscience in the heart, has already accused us: we broke it, and we are guilty. The Gospel is the power to do the Law; the Gospel motivates by the gentle but powerful love of God.

After we acknowledge that we do not have the ability in our own flesh to do what we know to do, then we repent, believe, receive forgiveness, and begin to walk into the good works God has prepared for us. This is the promise of “written in the heart:” by faith, and by the power of the Spirit I begin to actually do the right thing, the good thing that I already know about. It is not that the New Testament believer no longer needs the Law; it is that the Law has no external power to influence compliance. But the promise is that the Gospel does have the power and ability to actually do what I want to do. We do not see how this works out, but we are told the truth: this is how it works. Hear the Gospel, and change will come. That is the promise of His “law in the mind.” “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” [Zechariah 4:6].

327. High Priest

Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

We have such a High Priest: a priest who made one sacrifice for all our sins for all time, a priest who ever lives to make intercession for us, a priest who has presented us before the Father, and who is continually presenting us before God. Such a Priest! This High Priest is on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty. He is Himself Almighty God, directing and controlling things on earth along with the Majesty on the High Throne.

We have the comfort of knowing that the One who is in Charge of our life is the very same person who loved us so much He died for us. We can have no doubt that He is looking out for our welfare and our wellbeing. If we were in charge of our own lives by ourselves we know that we would only mess it up. But when we do mess up things we know that He is there to rescue and deliver us.

We have the comfort of knowing that He is interceding for us, keeping us out of eternal trouble; and we know He is pleading for me so that all will go well with my soul. He knows what to pray for, and He knows the answers we need. We don’t always pray the Lord’s Prayer without ceasing, but our High Priest is always praying the prayer: that His Name is hallowed among us, that His Kingdom will come among us, that His will shall be done in our lives, that we always have daily bread, that our sins are forgiven, that we overcome temptation, and that we be delivered from evil. Praise Jesus, our High Priest! He prays perfectly for us.

We have the comfort of knowing that we are always and ever accepted by God and have unfettered access to the Lord on the throne. The Priest presented His own blood before God and He is pleased with us, and He continually reminds us that the blood is there and we can enter with Him behind the veil. We don’t see what the Priest has done in the heavens; therefore, He has told us clear terms what He has done, what it looks like, and what it means.

326. Intercession

Hebrews 7:25b …seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

God promises that both Jesus Christ, the Son, and also the Holy Spirit will intercede for the believers. Both are one God and both live within our spirit, but by the distinction of the persons of the Trinity we have a double assurance and promise that God Himself is interceding for us. The Holy Spirit is continually turning our sighs and groans into articulate prayers before the Father, and Jesus Christ is ever living to make intercession for us. The promise is reassuring for us in that even while we may be unaware of actually praying we still have the Son and the Spirit praying for us according to our needs and according to God’s will.

The God who knows intimately what we really need accomplishes this promise of continual intercession on our behalf; and He knows better than we do what is good for us. It is comforting to know that even when we are not consciously aware the Lord is always concerned about us. He is looking after us, watching over us, and sending angels to protect and provide for our daily bread. All men by nature are going to fail in “praying without ceasing,” consciously being aware of the presence of God, and bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. As humans, we cannot always be thinking about God and connecting Him to our present needs. Even monks, who become monks for just that purpose, fail. The human condition prevents us from ever living to intercede. But God is able. He is not always on our mind, but we are always on His mind. Such great comfort we can take from this promise!

The basic aspect of the term, “make intercession,” is that Jesus is ever living to plead our case before the Eternal Judge, and He reminds the Father that His shed blood has brought us certainly and legally into the presence of God, now and forever. It is as if Jesus is continually showing His blood on the mercy seat proving that the Father has accepted me totally and forever. It is not that God needs reminding, but I need to be reminded. It is possible for me to be deceived into thinking that there are certain times and certain sins that prevent my acceptance with God. But I can say with confidence, “My Shepherd and Comforter is praying for me, and I know I am forgiven and loved by the Father.” It is a constant comfort to know that Jesus says to us, “I got your back.”

By the way, since we have such a great High Priest continually interceding for us in every need, we do not have any need to pray to Mary or any saint or talk to any loved one who has passed on. Not only is praying to saints unnecessary, it is also a subtle rejection of the completed intercessory sacrifice of Christ for us. So Jesus commands, “Ask in My name.”

325. Saved to the Uttermost

Hebrews 7:25a Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him,…

Jesus Christ is able to, and He does, save us to the uttermost. The promise is that we are saved to the uttermost when we believe: coming to God by Christ = faith. Those who believe in Him are saved. “To the uttermost” is absolute, total, final, saved from everything bad and saved for everything good.

If we can think of anything we need to be saved from, we are saved from it: we are saved from doubt, worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, inferiority, imperfection, mistakes, errors, failure, missing out, coming short, troubles, threats, disasters, and everything bad or anything we construe to be bad. In short, we are saved from evil; we are safe from the three Enemies: Sin, Death, and the Devil, which are trying to steal, kill and destroy with eternal death, hell, and damnation. We are not physically saved from bad things happening to us, but we are saved from the evil of it. The evil of pain, suffering, and bad things will not hold us and entrap us: we will escape and be delivered from being kept in the evil of a thing. Believe the promise: Christ is able to save to the uttermost. So we pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

If we can think of anything we need to be saved for, we are saved for it: we are saved for a full, abundant and eternal life, for joy, bliss and happiness, for love, forgiveness and acceptance, for peace, safety and security, for comfort, strength and hope, for provision, protection and nourishment of body and soul, for contentment, serenity and calm, for the satisfaction of knowing I have everything that has to do with the support and needs of body and soul. In short, we are saved for everything good. God promises to always be there to give what we need along with the faith to see and receive the good with thanksgiving. Jesus saves to the uttermost. So we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and “Thy kingdom come.”

324. A Better Hope makes Perfect

Hebrews 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

The Gospel brings in a better hope. The Law could not bring hope; the Law can only bring despair. The Law makes nothing perfect, but the Gospel makes perfect; the perfect Jesus Christ does this for us. The grace of God, earned by Christ, gives perfection to us freely. By faith we now have a better hope; the hope is not only better, but it is a perfect hope. Since Christ makes us perfect we have a hope that will not fail; it is hope that will most definitely be fulfilled in us.

The Great Reversal theme is basic to the entire Bible. The Great Reversal in this case is the movement from Despair to Hope. The Law brings despair; the Gospel brings hope. We need to hear both Law and Gospel. The Gospel is meaningless without the Law. Hope is unnecessary without despair. Hope is appreciated when we have first been brought to despair and rescued from it. The Gospel is appreciated when we have first been convicted of sin and guilt and condemnation. Forgiveness is meaningful when we repent and believe. God can and does forgive when we have been made perfect, whole, complete, righteous, holy and pure. The Law says, “Be perfect.” The Law also says, “You are not perfect.” The Gospel says, “Jesus made you perfect, and now you are.”

The righteousness of God granted by grace to faith gives us confident standing in front of Almighty God on the throne. By this perfect hope we may and can draw near to God. We have a right and a privilege to pray at any time for any need. He commands us to draw near in prayer and He promises to hear us. We know He hears us because we have a better hope through the Gospel. After one hears the Gospel one should thank and praise God and then make his requests known to Him. That is hope that is good, better and best.

323. Hope as an Anchor

Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

The usual symbol for the concept of Hope has always been an Anchor, for God promises hope as an anchor of the soul. An anchor steadies the ship and holds it in place in the face of storms and winds and currents that would set it adrift. My soul is the ship that is going to drift without something to hold it in place. The winds and currents of this world continue to blow and flow; it is possible at any time to get carried away. Hope is the anchor that is sure and steadfast, keeping me safe and secure. Using another metaphor, hope fixes me securely on the solid rock. Hope ties the soul to secure truth and sure promises. Hope is the present reality of something I cannot yet see; and it is even “more real” than what I can see.

The anchor of hope that holds my soul reaches “within the veil,” that is, it is secured onto something I cannot see behind the curtain. The veil is the dividing line between the seen and the unseen, the visible and invisible, the physical and the spiritual. We don’t have to pin our hopes on material things or on anything in the physical world. The hope is secured on the invisible things of God: forgiveness of sins, everlasting life, eternal salvation, resurrection of the body, a place with the Lord on the throne, a mansion in the eternal paradise, along with love, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The anchor could not be pinned in a more secure place.

Also behind the veil is the mercy seat within the Holy of Holies, where God dwells in all His glory. There Jesus entered, carried His Blood, and then sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat of God, thereby pleasing God with His sacrifice so that we can be absolutely certain that God is pleased with us. The Anchor of Hope is secured within that veil.

How do we know all this to be true? How can we have such a hope? How do we know for sure? How can we see the unseen? We know this, and we hope in it, because the Lord has revealed (unveiled) it all to us in His Word. The Holy Spirit comes with the Gospel to attach the end of the anchor’s rope to our heart. And we are forever connected to God and His life in an unbreakable way. Even though we do not see it we have the revealed Word and the convincing Spirit and the eyes of faith. We hold on to the hope and we remain in a secure place.

322. Strong Consolation

Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

God promises strong consolation, and God cannot lie. God is showing the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose. Now lying and not keeping a promise are often confused; they are not the same thing. However, in God’s case, He does both: He does not lie and He keeps His promises. It’s simple: if God said it, it is truth; and if God promises something He will do it. The purpose and result of knowing God keeps His Word is that we have strong consolation. Count on it.

Strong encouragement gives heart and strength to our faith and life. We have a great comfort whenever we need it. We can be consoled to some degree by the sympathy and care of other human beings, but when God consoles it is very strong. When He comforts us with His promises through the Gospel we are emotionally and mentally stronger. We are able to stand up tall and strong in the face of threats and fears. Whenever there is grief and loss God promises comfort, and it works. Strong consolation comes from the Gospel, which brings the power and love of God close to us in our troubles.

Because of this promise we can, and we do, flee for refuge in God to lay hold on the hope He has given us. We need a place of refuge and safety. Jesus Himself is the Rock of Refuge and the Mighty Fortress into which we can flee at any time to find safety, comfort, peace, security, and strong consolation. How often God’s children do not “flee for refuge” when it is always available! Too often we try to cope with the stresses of life by our own strength when strong help is so close. The promise of strong consolation is given us to encourage us to turn to God immediately when we feel the need. We have been given a hope; the hope is within us. We only need to lay hold of it when we need it. Whenever we feel stress for any reason our God is there for us. He knows how to strengthen and encourage. Lay hold upon the hope! And remember: God cannot lie.

321. Inherit the Promises

Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

A part of the fantastic inheritance that Jesus Christ has earned for us and given to us is the many promises in the Bible. Most of those promises are based upon and dependent upon what Christ has done for us and then given to us. He even gives the faith to receive them. We only need to hear the promises with faith as often as possible.

We inherit through faith and patience. Faith we understand well enough. Faith comes along with the Gospel. It enters the ears or eyes, gives understanding to the brain, and then penetrates the heart by the working of the Holy Spirit, which is also a free gift by His grace. We believe, therefore we have the promises. We just fall back into struggling on our own so easily.

But we do need patience, because we do not see changes in behavior quickly enough. Nothing happens soon enough for our impatient souls. Patience is a part of the fruit of the Spirit; He develops patience over time, and we do not even see the growth in patience that is really there. We go to church to hear the Gospel; the Gospel gives the Spirit and the fruit that grows; patience can only grow and develop over a period of time. However, like everything else, we want patience now, as we are used to instant gratification. Meanwhile, while we wait for patience we have the faith that the Lord will do what He promised in His time. And God is always working at the right time. We only need faith to wait for it. 

The admonition in this verse is: do not be lazy. Do not expect that the Lord will simply drop everything into your lap while you sit on the couch. Study the Bible, be in fellowship with godly people, spend time in prayer, and look at the faith and patience of other believers who seem to enjoy the promised blessings of God for Christ’s sake. Relax, and let the Spirit do the work; but do not be so lazy that you miss the work that the Spirit is doing. Relax, and let faith and patience come through the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel. You do not need to struggle to believe or be patient; but do not be lazy either. Pay attention to the Lord and let Him do the work. He promises to grant the faith and patience to inherit.