Jan 18
29
BETTER
The key word in the book of Hebrews is “better” (1:4; 6:9; 7:7, 19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24). One purpose of this book is to show use that Christ is “better” than all who came before him. He is better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, and better than Aaron. He is Surety of a better covenant, established upon better promises, giving a better hope. Christ our Savior is better than the tabernacle, the altar, and the mercy-seat. He is a better Sacrifice, offering better blood, giving us a better access to and better standing before the holy Lord God. In all things Christ is better than all others. He is infinitely better. He is the best!
Christ is better than the prophets (1:1-4). ― Each of the prophets gave us a partial revelation of God and his purpose. Reading the prophets and studying their messages, we leave each one thinking (as they intended), “This is not the final word. There is more to be revealed.” Christ is the perfect, complete, full, and final revelation of God.
· The prophets were mere messengers. Christ is the Message.
· The prophets were mere men. Christ is the Creator, Ruler, Redeemer, and Savior of men.
· The prophets were sinners in need of atonement. Christ is atonement. By his one sacrifice, “he purged our sins” and “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,” because his work was finished and accepted.
Christ is better than the angels (1:4-2:18). ― The angels are creatures of God. He is the Son of God (v. 5). The angels were commanded of God to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, his incarnate Son, as God in his humiliation as he came into the world (v. 6). God never commanded an angel to sit with him on his throne, but he said to his Son, when he had finished his work of redemption as our Substitute, “Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (vv. 7-13). Christ is one with the Father, in every way his equal. But the angels are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (v. 14).
Christ is better than Moses (3:1-19). ― Moses, of course, represents the law of God. He was a servant in the house. Christ is Builder and the Master of the house. God’s elect, his church and kingdom are his house. In this house Moses was a servant for a season. But Moses could not bring the children of Israel into the land of promise because he represented the law, and the law cannot save. It cannot give rest. Moses had to die in the wilderness. Joshua was raised up to take his place and to lead Israel into Canaan, into the land of rest. But Joshua, too, was but a man typical of Christ.
Don Fortner
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Christ Superior to Moses.
The history of Moses was remarkable from beginning to end. The hand of Providence preserved him as a babe, and the hand of God dug his grave at the finish. Between those terms he passed through the strangest and most contrastive vicissitudes which, surely, any mortal has ever experienced. The honors conferred upon him by God were much greater than any bestowed upon any other Prayer of Manasseh , before or since. During the most memorable portion of their history, all of God’s dealings with Israel were transacted through him. His position of nearness to Jehovah was remarkable, awesome, unique. Through him the whole of the Levitical economy was instituted. By him the Tabernacle was built. Thus we can well understand the high esteem in which the Jews held this favored man of God—cf. John 9:28 , 29.
Yet great as was Moses, the Holy Spirit in this third section of Hebrews calls upon us to consider One who so far excelled him as the heavens are above the earth. First, Christ was the immeasurable superior of Moses in His own person: Moses was a man of God, Christ was God Himself. Moses was the fallen descendant of Adam. conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity; Christ was sinless, impeccable, holy. Again; Christ was the immeasurable superior of Moses in His Offices. Moses was a prophet, through whom God spake; Christ was Himself “the Truth,”revealing perfectly the whole mind, will, and heart of God. Moses executed priestly functions ( Exodus 24:6; 32:11); but Christ is the “great High Priest.” Moses was “king in Jeshurun” ( Deuteronomy 33:5); Christ is “King of kings.” To mention only one other comparison, Christ was the immeasurable superior of Moses in His work. Moses delivered Israel from Egypt, Christ delivers His people from the everlasting burnings. Moses built an earthly tabernacle, Christ is now preparing a place for us on High. Moses led Israel across the wilderness but not into the Canaan itself; Christ will actually bring many sons “unto glory.” May the Holy Spirit impress our hearts more and more with the exalted dignity and unique excellency of our Savior. A. W.Pink
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Religion Or Worship
Based upon the Word of God, human nature, and from personal experience, I conclude that many people who attend church services are merely RELIGIOUS. The Lord said to a group of religious folk, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written (Isaiah 29:13), this people draweth nigh unto me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. I believe most people are religious for gain, duty, habit, social contacts and a number of other reasons.
True believers attend church services, because they are in love with and desire to worship and become better acquainted with a PERSON–THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! The true believer (one who knows, worships, loves, trusts and follows Jesus Christ) comes to the house of God with a real desire to worship (praise and thank) his God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a PERSON who draws him/her to the worship services, and that is just what he does – WORSHIP. The religious need to be entertained during the service and impressed by spiritual surroundings; but believers need only to hear God’s Word preached, pray and sing His praises. In fact, the simpler the service and the more preaching (of Christ), the better the believer likes it; for it is Christ he has come to hear about and worship.
Before we can worship in peace of conscience and liberty of heart, we must know, on the authority of God’s Word, and by the power of God’s Spirit, that the entire question of sin has been forever settled by the blood of a divine sin-offering.
–Scott Richardson
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The heart of man, says God by the prophet, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? — In me, said the apostle, that is, in my flesh, abstracted from supernatural grace, dwelleth no good thing.–And, says a greater than both, From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man (Mark vii). Is it possible that any who calls himself a Christian can, after considering the above declaration of Christ, dare to term the human mind a sheet of white paper? No – it is naturally a sheet of paper blotted and blurred throughout. So blotted and defiled all over, that nothing but the inestimable blood of God, and the invincible Spirit of grace, can make it clean and white.
Augusts Toplady
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(Vs. 15) We are to look carefully and diligently TO OURSELVES and TO ONE ANOTHER, lest any of us fall from or depart from the true gospel of the grace of God (Heb. 3:13-14). Men do not fall from the free favor and love of God in Christ, which is everlasting, unchangeable, and implanted in regeneration (Rom. 8:34-39); but some profess to believe, profess to know that grace and that love, and profess to embrace that gospel who later depart, deny, and compromise it (I John 2:19). The heart is deceitful and wicked (Prov. 4:23).
Henry Mahan
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One mark of the spirit which is not of God, is a spirit of hardness. I use the word “spirit,” because the Scriptures speak in the same way of “the spirit of error,” (1 John iv. 6), “of antichrist,” (1 John iv. 3), “of whoredoms,” (Hos. iv. 12), and so on. We read that “the Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.” (Ex. x. 20.) And we read, “God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear.” (Rom. xi. 8.) A spirit of hardness, then, is an infallible mark of the spirit not being of God. By hardness, I mean the opposite of tenderness. Opposition to God’s truth, an unwillingness, an inability to fall under the power of it; setting up our prejudice, our pride, our preconceived opinions against the solemn authority of God, and maintaining a rugged, unbending, unyielding temper.
Now this is a very different thing from firmness. Gospel firmness and judicial hardness are two very different things. A man cannot be too firm when God the Spirit has meekened his heart, and made the truth precious to him; but he will not have hardness of spirit; he will fall in a moment before truth. Let God only bring one of His people upon His heart; let Him only touch his conscience with His finger, and he is broken to pieces. But it is not so with the heart that is hard; neither law nor gospel has an effect there, but even a profession of religion is carried out in an unyielding spirit, a hard, self-opinionated perverseness.
J. C. Philpot