Perfected by the Perfect One
June 25, 2017 Preacher: Jeff Griffis Series: Hebrews
Scripture: Hebrews 7:11–19
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Perfected by the Perfect One (Hebrews 7:11-19)
- Read Hebrews1:1-3 and Pray: [please listen closely and be praying silently with me as I pray aloud. Don’t let your mind wander… Let’s worship together in prayer]
- God, we worship you today as the only one worthy of our worship. You alone are unique in your perfect holiness, pure in your goodness, and awesome in might and immortality. We fear you because you are awesome to behold; we trust you because you remain forever steadfast and trustworthy; we love you because you have demonstrated your perfect love toward us in giving us Jesus; and we obey you because obedience is the privilege of those called to be your sons and daughters.
- Lord, there are some here today who have not yet drawn near to you through claiming Jesus as their only salvation from their sin and only sufficiency to have a relationship with you. I pray that your Holy Spirit will take the truth of your Word and make them miserable in their separation from you, and cause them to thirst desperately for you so that they will come willingly and eagerly to Jesus to be their life and joy.
- And Father, others of us are growing in you, but we keep clinging sometimes to our religiosity and other times to our sin. Father, break our hearts again so that we may see you rightly, love you wholly, and follow you steadfastly. Renew our grip in clinging to you as our only true hope in this life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- We’re in the middle of the book of Hebrews, so let’s continue a brief review of the author’s sermon so far.
- Read Hebrews 7:11-28
- Traditions die hard. Religious traditions die even harder. (bc we feel like maybe we’re stopping something sacred. – Let’s treat as sacred only that which is actually sacred.)
- [On the other hand] Not everything newer is necessarily better. J [Like software or app updates.] Just because there is a new way to do things doesn’t necessarily make it better.
- But in this case, the new covenant is better. – The new covenant replaces the law covenant in the sense of both fulfilling it and superseding it.
- Not that the law was bad in any way. The law was good because God is good. But our understanding of the rules has changed. (Fuller, better, more complete path and picture, a paradigm shift in our understanding of God’s desire to bring us into relationship with Him.)
- [Here’s a brief summary of the argument in vv. 11-28 of Hebrews 7.] The Levitical priesthood and the law were insufficient to perfect restoration to God. By contrast, Jesus’ perfect and eternal priesthood accomplishes what the old order could not and introduces a new and better covenant, one that allows us to draw near in an intimate relationship with God. – [Dividing this section in two and focusing today on vv. 11-19] Again, Jesus is a perfect priest forever in a way that the law and the old priesthood could never be, which means that he allows us to draw near to God in a way that the law and the Levitical priesthood did not.
- A rhetorical question about perfection. (v. 11) – And the meaning here of perfection. (Gk. teleiosis – completion, fulfillment to perfection – arriving at a desired end, reaching a goal – meaning then complete reconciliation with God, providing unhindered access to God)
- The inability of the Levitical priesthood and Mosaic Law creates the need for another priest of a different type.
- So God predicted, in Psalm 110:4 a new priestly order.
- Inadequate bc of inability to secure perfection. That’s why the scripture foretold of another priest arising in the order of Melchizedek. (having established in first 10 verses that the Melchizedekan priestly order is superior **)
- [The old covenant was] Incomplete – insufficient
- By CONTRAST, the completeness and sufficiency and eternality [and so on] of Jesus’ priesthood) = BETTER! = new covenant – His nature, his status, his work… is better!
- The insufficiency of the one clearly affirms the definite need for a new and better priestly order, and a new and better covenant… [that’s v. 11]
- [Then comes] A statement about a change and the interconnectedness of the Mosaic law and Levitical priesthood (v. 12) –
- When the priesthood changes, the law necessarily changes too.
- Where the Apostle Paul emphasizes that the law put a spotlight on sin (Gal. & Rom.), the letter to the Hebrews emphasizes that its priesthood provided a shadow of that which is complete in Christ and demonstrated a NEED for a perfect intermediary. So Jesus is the Great High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. – The law and the levitical system was a temporary way that God managed his people until the fulfillment and replacement of it in Christ Jesus.
- An explanation of the point – Our Lord was of another tribe, indicating that he is another kind of priest—a perfect one and a permanent one.
- Another priest from another tribe (vv. 13-14)
- And again, not by bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life (vv. 15-17) – Immortality
- [In vv. 18-19] The speaker of Hebrews rounds out the comparison btwn that which can making NOTHING perfect versus He who introduces a better hope, through which we draw near to God. – The old system is set aside because it is ineffective to perfect anything, but Christ introduces a hope that perfects, allowing us to draw near to God.
- Ineffective (weak and useless – could not, did not, will not) – By contrast, EFFECTIVE (see v. 25) – He qualifies us to draw near.
- The perfection or completeness God sought was that we might, through Jesus, “draw near to God.” (see 10:1) Through Jesus God established the means for his desired aim, which is to provide an eternal relationship with his people. [repeated in Hebrews = draw near, hold fast… draw near, hold fast]
- Who Jesus is makes all the difference for who you are. – Our “perfection” can ONLY come by our perfect priest.
- Your pitiful religiosity is useless, but Jesus’ perfect atonement and eternal priesthood gives life where there is death. You are far from God and he brings you near. You are broken; Jesus makes you whole. Your emptiness he can fill. What would seem to you to be meaningless suffering, he redeems with eternal significance. Knowing Jesus gives your aimless existence God-glorifying purpose, and growing in Jesus gives your soul a continual, grace-empowered pursuit to set your sights on until your mortality becomes immortality in the perfect presence of God. This is what you were made for—to be rescued by this Lord of Grace and belong to this King of Glory.
- We must not neglect ignore it… and we must not forget it. Draw near to God and hold fast to the hope of perfection at that day when you stand before the One who has become our Perfect Priest Forever. – As you prepare your heart to depart from here and return to your busy daily schedule, be still and know that if you belong to God in Christ Jesus, the Lord is on your side. Rest in Him. [Let’s sing that together now.]
- A rhetorical question about perfection. (v. 11) – And the meaning here of perfection. (Gk. teleiosis – completion, fulfillment to perfection – arriving at a desired end, reaching a goal – meaning then complete reconciliation with God, providing unhindered access to God)
More in Hebrews
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Equipped to Follow the Great ShepherdJune 24, 2018
Helping Leaders LeadJune 17, 2018
Follow the Leader: Leading Well