Guarantor of the Covenant
The definitive “Word” that God has spoken “in the Son” surpasses all past revelations made in “the prophets.” Jesus exceeded every one of his predecessors. He alone “achieved the purification of sins,” therefore, he “sat down” at the right hand of God as the “guarantor” and priestly “mediator” of the long-awaited “New Covenant” inaugurated by his Death and Resurrection.
The Letter to the Hebrews contrasts
the perpetual priesthood, New Covenant, and once-for-all sacrifice of
the Son with the multiple priests, obsolete covenant, and repeated
animal sacrifices of the Levitical code.
[Photo by Stefie Zawa on Unsplash] |
God promised a new priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek,” demonstrating that the Aaronic priesthood could never achieve the “purification of sins.” Otherwise, there would have been no need for a new priesthood and accompanying covenant.
Under the “former” legislation, the
people received the Law with its regulations for sacrifices, the calendar, and priesthood.
But the promise of a new order of priests also meant “a change of law” was
necessary - (Hebrews 7:11-14).
The Levitical priesthood depended on lineal
descent and multiple generations of priests since all men die. In contrast, the
priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek” is perpetual since it is
based on the endless resurrection life of the “Son.” Jesus did not
become “our High Priest” until his Death and Resurrection. His “once
for all” sacrifice confirmed and sanctified the promised “New Covenant.”
Moreover, the Son was installed by the oath
of God (“The Lord swore and will not regret: You are a priest everlastingly”);
therefore, his priesthood is not “transmissible.” He is the “Guarantor
of a better covenant,” and Jesus is well able to save his “brethren”
to the uttermost since he “lives evermore to intercede for them” -
(Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7:15-25).
Unlike his predecessors, he “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens” and became the minister of “the Real Tabernacle,” and not of a temporary tent “made-by-hand.” He intercedes continually for his people in the greater and true “tent pitched by God” in the very presence of God.
The animal sacrifices of the Levitical
system constituted only “glimpses and shadows of the heavenly realities,”
therefore, they could never cleanse the sinner’s “conscience” of the
stain of sin - (Hebrews 8:1-6).
BETTER COVENANT
Having attained a more distinguished
ministry, he became the “mediator of a better covenant legislated upon
better promises.” If the “first covenant” had been faultless,
there would be no need for a second one to replace it. Having found fault with the
former covenant, the Lord announced that He would “conclude a New Covenant”
with His people. This vastly superior covenant would never require modification
or replacement - (Hebrews 8:7-13).
In the Letter, the “New Covenant” is
expressly stated NOT to be “according to the covenant” made at
Sinai. It is not a “renewed” version of the Law given through Moses, but an
entirely new covenant designed to achieve the “purification of sins.”
Under this “New Covenant,” all
citizens of the Kingdom know God since His righteous requirements have been inscribed
on their hearts by the “Spirit of the living God,” thus “circumcising
their hearts” rather than their “foreskins” to love Yahweh their God
with all their heart and thy soul as promised in the Torah - (Deuteronomy
30:6, Jeremiah 31:31-33, Ezekiel 36:22-27, 2 Corinthians 3:1-3).
By establishing the “New Covenant,”
Jesus “made the first one obsolete.” This means the covenant established
at Sinai ceased to be in effect for God’s people because of the superior sacrifice,
covenant, and priestly office of the “Son.”
[Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash] |
Since the “New Covenant” achieved the “purification of sins” and “cleansed the conscience” of the believer, its benefits far surpass those of the old Levitical code. To return now to that dated system would mean abandoning the supreme benefits of the New Covenant established by the Son of God through great personal sacrifice.
Not only so but forsaking the Assembly
after we have received the knowledge of the truth would amount to “trampling
underfoot the Son of God and the blood of the covenant.” The Lord will judge His people, and, in the end,
the apostate will find just what a “fearful thing it is to fall into the
hands of a Living God.”
The position
of the Letter to the Hebrews is that returning to the Levitical system means
abandoning the superior New Covenant established by the Son of God and
apostatizing from the “salvation” provided by God “upon the last of
these days.” Any man or woman who “drifts away” from this foundation
will “receive just recompense” far worse than any punishment received under
the Mosaic Law for his or her egregious “disobedience and transgression.”
RELATED POSTS:
- God has Spoken! - (God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial)
- Purifying Sins - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to intercede for his people as their faithful High Priest)
- The Foundation - (Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the resurrection of believers)
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