In this Epistle, the Spirit opens the heavens and shows us Christ ascended and seated on the right hand of the throne of God. It is the great witness of God's acceptance of Christ. It sets forth this fact, establishing it as it were in the mouth of many great and august witnesses. Other and earlier testimonies had been borne to this in the rent vail at the moment of His death and in His resurrection from the tomb and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which followed in their seasons. Here the Spirit gives His crowning testimony to His acceptance in heaven in such characters as answer our necessities. He displaces as it were one after another to show the superiority of Christ and to display the varied glories that He bears as glorified there.
In Hebrews 1 and 2 The Spirit displaces prophets and angels to let in Christ. In chapters 3 and 4 He displaces Moses and Joshua, and in chapters 5 and 6 Aaron. In chapters 8 and 9 the old covenant and the former sanctuary, with its services are set aside, to bring in His sacrifice and its abiding value for His people. And having thus introduced Him, the Spirit fixes our gaze upon Him there forever, for He has no successor.
In Hebrews 1 He is seen seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high as the Purger of our sins, and as the Heir of all, and His inheritance is seen as already standing in the power of redemption, shared by Him with His joint-heirs who are, as chapter 2:10 assures us, being led on by Him to His glory in which they are to share. As Redeemer, He had charged Himself with their burdens, and now He leads them on, charging Himself with their blessings, having respect to them in all their ways, until they are brought to the sharing of the inheritance as joint heirs with Himself, to sit with Him in the sovereignty of all things in the world to come as chapter 2:10 speaks. And His people have already been “made meet” (Col. 1:1212Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12)) to share that inheritance by Himself as their “Sanctifier” (chap. 2:11). In all His glories they are seen with Him, from first to last. They are henceforth seen as joint-heirs with Him in every character and glory that He bears.
In Hebrews 3 he is shown as the Apostle speaking to us from God, of whom Moses was the type (Deut. 34:1010And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, (Deuteronomy 34:10)). He was distinguished from all other prophets by God speaking to him face to face, and having access to all His house as a servant. But the “Son” is in fullest and deepest intimacy with all His counsels, and has the most perfect fellowship with Him in all His works and ways in heavenly and earthly things. He is the owner of an abiding house, the giver of an eternal rest, and a High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. He is in the sanctuary above to transact the business of His people forever, for His priesthood is established in the power of our endless life.
His sacrifice, Hebrews 9-10, is seen to be of eternal value, and being so, it brings perfection to the worshippers and sets them forever in the presence of God. In Hebrews 12 He is received and seated in heaven as the Author and Finisher of faith. Thus one after another is superseded by Christ, and having introduced Him the Spirit closes His delightful task by leaving Him before us, fixing our gaze upon Him as One to continue before our souls forever—“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and forever.”
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