The Beauty and Peculiarity of the Book of Hebrews (2)

Hebrews 3:6 KJV
(6)  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Is this saying, I am not the House of Jesus anymore?
Is it saying it is until i finish my race before Jesus will start to live in me? That will in fact be ridiculous, because at the end of this life, we will see Him face to face, and not that that is when He will start to live in us.

So what 'end' is Heb3:6 saying?

The word 'end' there is the greek word 'telos'. It means
1. a set out point (a limit)
2. intended aim, purpose of a thing
3. a toll (just like toll  gates are sited at the END of a road)

The Beauty and Peculiarity of the Book of Hebrews (1)

The language of the book of Hebrews is strongly persuasive.

It is intended to persuade people who are not yet persuaded about the Messiahship of Jesus, and to REASSURE those who have done so that they have made the right choice.

It is therefore no surprise to see
"assurance" occurs twice.
So we have the word "let us" occuring at least 13 times.
Let us fear... 4:1
Let us...enter... 4:11
Let us hold fast.. 4:14
Let us... come BOLDLY... 4:16
Let us go... 6:1; 13:13

and lots more.

"let us" is a admonitive language.
Having given convincing reasons why the Messiahship of the man Jesus cannot be doubted, he admonishes "them" to go unto Him..

TO DISCERN WHO THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN TO IS THE BEGINNING OF UNDERSTANDING THIS BOOK

HEAVENLY CONSCIOUS?

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Many will read this verse and talk about heaven.
However, this is not talking about heaven as a location as much as it's talking about a status to which our earthly conduct must align.

No Double Jeopardy with God

Double jeopardy is a procedural defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction. (Wikipedia.org)

Once you're acquitted by a court of competence, either because you're guiltless or because you have fully been punished for your offence, YOU SHALL NOT AGAIN BE TRIED OVER THAT SAME OFFENCE.

The Mystery of the Word “Abba Father”

Here's something about "Abba Father" we need to know.

 

It's twice mentioned by Paul.

 

(Romans 8:15 KJV)
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ABBA, FATHER.

 

And

 (Galatians 4:6 KJV)
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

 

Abba Father…

 

Now in the mouth of TWO witnesses, every word shall be established (John 8:17, Deut 17:6, Deut 19:15, 2Cor 13:1)

 

So God is saying, take note, this concept is TRUE: ONLY SONS have the capacity to cry "Abba Father".

 

In other words, you cannot cry "Abba Father" except you are a Son.

 I simply call it, "the language of sons" which non-sons cannot speak or learn to speak. No one ever learns it: it's the SPIRIT that you simply receive.

 

So if you can cry "Abba Father" and it will be accepted by the Father (because anyone can mention it), you must be a son. Correct?
Good.

 

Isn't it amazing that before the Epistles/Acts, (that is, before Jesus' death and resurrection), only one occurrence of "Abba Father" is seen in the Bible?

 

And Guess who said it?

Jesus

 

And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said...
..ABBA, FATHER…

(Mark 14:35-36 KJV)

 

 

Only Jesus at this time was recorded to speak the language of sons. No other record.
It was "scarcely heard".

So is it ok to sing at this time, "Jesus na (is) the only Son of God o… eh o…"?

It is.

Jesus was the only one who could cry "Abba Father".

 

But in the post-Gospels, Paul says we (believers) ALL have now received the spirit of son and now we do cry "Abba Father"

 

We thus must be sons of God in the class of Jesus. We speak the language of sons just like Jesus speak. The Father listens and attends to us like He does to Jesus. We are sons with Jesus. We are God's family! We are nigh now! He's our Father now!

 

When next you pray, say "Abba Father..." And He'll answer "my son".
Oh what a glory! Will you cry now? Shout it loud! "Abba, Father"

 

What a honour we have today to call the God of the universe by a personal filial appellation, and we will be right! You can never be too thankful for the price Jesus paid. Will we ever comprehend to the fullest what we have in redemption?

 

All Power in heaven and earth

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18 KJV)

Here, some people think what Jesus is saying is that, "yes! Now we got it! Peter, I have forcefully collected that thing o. john, can you believe we now have it. It wasn't easy.". They think Jesus during his departure from the earth to hell, went there to fight to collect all the powers there. Had to battle with the witches, wizards, "babalawos", deputy Satan, Assistant Satan and then their big boss – Satan, and said "give me that power now!" and then went to the heavens and collected the powers there and came back to say "yes! All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". Far from it!

"power" here isn't power to heal the sick: He already had that. It isn't power to turn water into wine. It isn't "dunamis" – ability to get things done. It is "exousia" - "authority". All authority in heaven and in earth is given unto me. All government in heaven and in earth is given unto me. It's a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:6
"and the government shall be upon his shoulder"
It's a fulfillment of David's prophecy
The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: RULE thou in the midst of thine enemies. (Psalms 110:2)

All government/rule in heaven and in earth is given unto me.

2. Whatever "power" referred to here, must be something He never possessed before. Supernatural powers, Jesus had before His death. We all know this.
What about authority? Do we want to say Jesus had no authority before his death?
Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. (Luke 9:1 KJV)

So, he had.
So, why the saying "is given unto me"? you don't get given to you what you already have. Jesus should have said "I always have all power in heaven and earth", and not "is given unto me". "is given unto me" means, it's just been given. So what could Jesus be saying?

It's simple. Jesus had power and authority. Authority he had, was because He was the only holy one who is not under Satan's rule: not being under sin.
God gave man authority over everything He created (heavens and the earth) when He said "subdue" in Genesis.  But by sin, man gave out this power to Satan, and Satan became the ruler of all under sin. the wages of sin is death, so Satan got the power/authority of death (Heb 2:14)

That's why Satan could lay claim to all the "kingdoms of the world" when he was tempting Jesus (see Matthew 4:8-9).

But Jesus, by death, freeing man from the wages of sin, and giving him the "gift of God"- eternal life, made Satan lose this authority; and man again, got the possession of ALL POWER in heaven and on earth! Alleluia!

Some have thought Jesus was speaking here as God. Oh no! God cannot be saying "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". God cannot be GIVEN power: God is POWER. God cannot be GIVEN authority: it takes authority to be God. Jesus was speaking for man in the light of what He has just done.

Conclusively, "all power belongs to God" – Correct. "All power belongs to Jesus" – correct, but you'll understand this verse more, if you put it this way: "all authority is now given back to man in Christ Jesus". Jesus is not a sole possessor of authority: the authority belongs to man! Jesus is not a monopoly of power today. It is not Jesus and his children. It is Jesus and his brothers in government.

The Wages of Sin is Death, but…

Let me tell you one funny interpretation of this I've heard from people.

You're watching a movie. You see one wicked man, doing evils, making many cry, using some witchcraft powers, financial advantage or political influence to oppress people so much that he's led to the death of many. In fact, you're almost beginning to forget it's just a movie in that you're already taking it personal. And towards the end of the movie, somehow the wicked man dies a terrible death. And then you say "that's good for him. Well deserved! Because bible says 'the wages of sin is death'". Oops!

Oftentimes we take this verse carnally in judging people they ought to be saving. We're supposed to be channels of salvation to the wicked people around us, and not judges sentencing them to eternal punishment.

Now what is the verse actually saying?
For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Romans 6:23 KJV)

Now, is this verse saying you should die for your sins? No! No!
Let's see the previous verse.

What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the END of those things [is] DEATH… {but did you die? If someone had killed you then, will you have had the opportunity of salvation?}
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:21-22)

So, it isn't saying anyone that sins should be killed. Rather, it's saying, the wages sin pays you is death, but God's gift is that you live forever. Which would you rather choose?

Now, observe the contrast the author used in describing both terms – death and eternal life.

One is "wages", the other is "gift".

A wage is a DESERVED pay. "for the labourer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7). "The labourer [is] worthy of his reward." (1Tim 5:14) It is something you have WORKED FOR and thus you MUST get. It is your right. Man sinned, and got paid in death. It was well deserved. And truly, death reigned over all (Rom 5:14). But eternal life through Christ Jesus is the part that is not merited, yet God gave it to us. Wont you say "Thank you Jesus"?

So the verse isn't instructive: it is descriptive, better still, narrative. It's informing you of what HAS BEEN DONE. Man (including you) had sinned already! "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)… and now, God's gift is available, to overwrite the death with eternal life. God's Grace is greater than sin! Alleluia!

It will be wickedness next time, to recite only the death part of this verse just because you are displeased and so get judgmental. Recite it in full! Let men also know they don't have to die for their sins. That you're wicked doesn't mean you should pay the price for your wickedness: for you Christ died. Alleluia!