What We Believe & Why - Chapter Twenty Three

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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Twenty Three
The High Priest Over the Church

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: Hebrews 10:21

The embracing of the portion of Bible doctrine set forth in this lesson places anyone in a small minority among professing Christians. The vast majority of all those who name the name of Jesus believe that all of the benefits of the priestly work of Christ are available instantly after and immediately following the new birth. However, as this lesson will set forth, the Bible teaches that the high priestly work of Christ is available only to those who are members in His church. That is not to say that only church members are saved, for no one must be a church member to be born again. But it is to say that there are numerous blessings and provisions that no saved person will ever enjoy until he becomes a member of the Lord's church, which he accomplishes by water baptism.

I. THERE ARE TWO BASIC AREAS IN WHICH CHRIST, OUR HIGH PRIEST, WORKS ON OUR BEHALF.

A. In the first place, let us establish the fact that Christ is our high priest.

1. The text verse, Hebrews 10:21, speaks of our "having and high priest," and Hebrews 3:1 says, "consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." So, there is no question that Jesus is a high priest.

2. Hebrews 4:14 says we have "A great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God," and Hebrews 8:1 says, "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens," and unlike earthly priests, He is "An high priest ... who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinner, and made higher than the heavens." (Hebrews 7:26)

3. Hebrews 9:11 calls Him "an high priest of good things to come," and whereas other high priests have died and been superseded by another, Jesus was "made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec." (Hebrews 6:20)

4. The scriptures, then, are far from silent on the fact that Jesus is our high priest.

B. Hebrews 4:14-15 sets forth the two areas in which Christ, as our high priest, works on our behalf. Please read these verses and note particularly that verse 16 mentions: (1) "obtain mercy" and (2) "find grace." From our high priest, these are what we can expect.

1. The first thing we can expect from Christ is to "obtain mercy."

a. In view of the scriptural fact that "There is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not," (Ecclesiastes 7:20), and "They are all gone out of the way," (Romans 3:12), then we must all admit with I John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

b. Such sin in our lives destroys good fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and makes us a sinner in the sense of James 5:19-20. Notice in verse 19 that James speaks of "brethren" who "err from the truth," and such ones are called sinners in verse 20. They are not alien sinners under the condemnation of eternal death, but are God's children, who've broken the spiritual family rules and whose fellowship with the Father is gone, and who are likely to meet premature physical death as a result thereof.

c. What such sinners need is "mercy," which is the first thing our high priest promises to give in Hebrews 4:16. The companion promise of God is I John 1:9 where He promises, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is what the publican of Luke 18:13 was practicing. He prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

d. But, why does He forgive us our sins? Is it because of our goodness? The answer is "no". He cleanses us upon the strength of Christ's own blood, and I John 1:7 says so. "And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." So, whatever forgiveness any of God's children receive from Christ the high priest is an act of mercy on His part to grant that forgiveness.

e. Also note that since our high priest, Jesus Christ, is "passed into the heavens," (Hebrews 4:14), and mercy is obtained through confession. (I John 1:9), then the way we come boldly to Him (Hebrews 4:16) is through prayer. This of course, enables those children to walk in fellowship with God and with one another, (I John 1:3), which would be impossible apart from the priestly work of Christ that is available through prayer.

f. Notice, too, that sin in the life of a child of God so destroys fellowship between that child and God that that child is in no position to ask God for grace or anything else by which to live until he first comes in confession for forgiveness. Thus, the order of Hebrews 4:16 is not accidental. From our high priest, we get (1) mercy and (2) grace in that order. We can never expect grace until mercy has been granted. No child of God can ignore his sins and yet find grace to help in time of need. Grace is only granted to those who walk in fellowship with God, by keeping their sins confessed, thus obtaining mercy.

2. The second thing we can expect from our high priest is to "find grace."

a. It is in view of our "infirmities," (Hebrews 4:15), or the weakness of our flesh, (Matthew 26:41), that we need grace. Considering our flesh, the world, and the devil, all of which are against us, we need grace to help us. Without it we would never succeed in serving God. That is why Hebrews 12:28 says, "Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." This scripture points out that it is God's grace that will enable us to serve Him acceptably.

b. Every child of God, who will place himself in the proper sphere and who will first take advantage of God's mercy in forgiving sins that hinder fellowship can then ask for all the grace he needs to face every circumstance of life. To these it is promised in I Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Of course, the child of God who refuses to place himself in the sphere in which God blesses and who refuses to confess his sins as he is instructed to do, surely cannot expect this grace to help him when he is in need. Nor can he expect victory over his infirmities, which hinder him from serving God acceptably.

c. From the high priest, an obedient child of God can receive the divine influence upon his heart and see its reflection in his life. He can face the problems of life, however difficult they are, and he can find the strength with which to do the work of God. The grace the high priest gives will improve your speech, (Colossians 4:6), give you spiritual strength, (II Timothy 2:1), give you stability, (Hebrews 13:9), put a song on your lips, (Colossians 3:16), and do many other things to give you a life full of victories and joys. All that a child of God needs, the grace of our God is sufficient to supply. (II Corinthians 12:9)

d. Again note that the means by which we come to the high priest and get the grace we need is prayer. So, the priestly work of Christ is inseparable from prayer. Our means by which we take advantage of all the wonderful things He offers, in both mercy and grace, is prayer. Our high priest stands ready to act when we come to Him in prayer.

II. OUR HIGH PRIEST, JESUS CHRIST, PERFORMS HIS PRIESTLY WORK FOR US ONLY IN A DEFINITE SPHERE OR FRAMEWORK.

A. That sphere in which Christ acts as high priest for us is the church.

1. The text, Hebrews 10:21, says the high priest is "over the house of God."

2. We do not have to speculate over what the house of God is. The divine testimony of God's word tells us clearly that it is the church in I Timothy 3:15. This scripture speaks of "the house of God, which is the church of the living God."

3. There are those who contend that the high priestly work of Christ extends to all believers. The scriptures never contend that. They contend that the high priestly work is limited to His house, which is the church. It is called a spiritual habitation of God, (Ephesians 2:22), and there is no indication that He does priestly work for anyone outside it. God wants glory to come to Him through the church, (Ephesians 3:21), and He causes "all things" to work on behalf of the church. (Ephesians 1:22-23) If God wants His children to also be a part of His church, why should He go ahead and extend His priestly work to a son who is stubborn and rebellious, and who refuses to place himself in the proper sphere of blessings?

4. The scriptures contend that He doesn't. The priestly benefits of mercy and grace are only for those in the house. Stubborn, rebellious sons are sons nonetheless, and they have the condemnation of sin rolled away by the work on the cross that Christ has already performed, but they do not have the right of prayer by which they can take advantage of fellowship with God and the work Christ is currently performing as high priest.

5. In clear terms, that means that a child of God cannot pray until he follows the Lord in baptism and becomes a member of the Lord's church. This is true because we take advantage of the priestly work of Christ in prayer, coming boldly to the throne of grace, (Hebrews 4:16), and if He performs His priestly work only for His church, then the prayers to the high priest by anyone outside the church would be in vain. Such being true, then one outside the church cannot ask forgiveness for his sins that hinder fellowship (mercy), nor can he ask for help in his problems nor strength by which to serve God acceptably (grace). Contrary to what many believe, it is important to follow the Lord in baptism and be a member of His church. You cannot get to the priest to ask for what He offers apart from His church. The church has been maligned, scorned, and written off as unimportant and useless. But it is still God's sphere in which He acts as high priest, and no one who bypasses it will ever enjoy the benefits of the priest. You can understand why I Peter 3:21 says "baptism doth also now save us."

B. This truth is well illustrated in the scriptures.

1. Under the Old Testament Levitical system, a Jew could only reap the benefits of the earthly high priest at the appointed place, which was at first the tabernacle, and later the temple. These are where the high priest performed his work, for only there did God promise to meet with the people.

2. God spoke of the mercy seat and said, "There will I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony." (Exodus 25:22) The mercy seat was inside the tabernacle, which was inside a fence, where a burnt altar was. (See Exodus 40) From time to time, the high priest went into the holiest room and offered before this mercy seat. (Leviticus 16:15)

3. If a Jew decided to offer unto God at some other place than before the high priest of the tabernacle, his offering was refused, and he would be harshly dealt with for his failure to offer at the proper place. Listen to God's words in Leviticus 17:8-9, "And thou O shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people." Also consider the case recorded in Joshua 2210-29.

4. So, you can see that in those days, there was a place appointed, a particular sphere, in which the work of the high priest could be had. Outside of that sphere no one was at liberty to offer. And certainly if they did, they did not expect the high priest to have anything to do with it.

5. The conditions surrounding the Old Testament high priest beautifully foreshadow the work of our great high priest of today, Jesus Christ. Just as there was an appointed and limited sphere in which the people could meet him and take full advantage of what he offered, even so there is a definite and limited sphere in which we can take advantage of what our high priest offers. The sphere there was the tabernacle and later the temple. Now it is in the church, which is the people not the building.

C. The idea of unconverted men or stubborn, rebellious sons of God who refuse to obey His command to be baptized and be a part of His church, praying is an idea foreign to scriptural doctrine. According to divine truth, whether or not anyone enjoys the benefits of the high priest's work depends upon whether or not he is within that sphere over which the high priest works, and that sphere is the church.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"