Sacrifice and Intercession of Christ

Review and Restatement of Priesthood Categories

0:00 For many months we have been engaged in a series of biblical studies aimed at setting forth the cardinal issues of the truths of the Word of God, using the language of Martin Luther when he stood to defend what he understood to be the teaching of the Word of God at the Diet of Worms. Most of us familiar with that language when he said, Here I stand, so help me God, I can do no other. Taking our clue from the confessional nature of Luther's words we've entitled this series, Here we stand, attempting to set forth something of that which we understand the word of God to teach

0:46 concerning the great issues of God, of sin, and of redemption. I feel it necessary from time to time to urge those who are with us in the course of any lengthy study not to grow weary with the ten or seven minute reviews that often introduce the successive studies.

1:09 Love in the heart of a preacher will force him to do this, because the law of love is, as you would, would that others do unto you, even so do ye also unto them, for this is the law and the prophets. And if I'm sitting in a congregation as a visitor or someone who's come in about two-thirds of the way along a series of studies, I'm always frustrated if the preacher doesn't tell me at least a little bit about where he's been and where he's going so that I'll know where I'm at. And this is what I attempt to do in these reviews. We go by the material about five miles an hour, and in a review we go by about a hundred miles an hour so you can't see as much.

1:46 But at least I hope you can see the main buildings and the main parts of the countryside and won't be totally lost as you come into the car, as it were, at the point at which we're all traveling along together at five miles an hour. Now, in the unfolding of these truths which form the heart of the Christian faith, we've come to the third major area entitled the salvation we receive and proclaim. Having examined what the Scriptures say about the objects of this salvation, namely man made in the image of God, man fallen in Adam, man ruined and dead in trespasses and sins, our present concern is that of seeking to grasp the teaching of Scripture, pointing to the central figure in this great salvation, namely our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2:37 For many Lord's Day mornings we contemplated the mystery of the person of the Redeemer. And we saw from the Scriptures that he is to be regarded and trusted and loved and confessed as nothing less than true God, as much God as though he had never become a man. He is to be confessed as true man, as much man as though he never were God. and he is to be understood and loved and served and confessed as being one person in the two distinct natures, the Godhood and the manhood, forever.

3:12 Now our present focus of concern is to grasp the teaching of Scripture relative to the majesty of his offices, to move from the contemplation of what he is in himself to the consideration of what he does in the accomplishment of redemption, but not what he does in general, but what he does specifically occupying those offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king. An office is an official position of authority and power. And the scriptures tell us that in accomplishing the salvation of sinners, Jesus Christ occupies the official positions of authority and power designated under the heading of prophet, of priest, and of king.

4:03 Now last Lord's Day I sought to convey several fundamental and preliminary propositions relative to the office of Christ as priest. I first of all gave you the reasons for considering the priestly office first. They were two. Most of the biblical material points to the priesthood as his supreme office.

4:26 And secondly, the other offices of prophet and king receive their direction and their perspectives from the office of a priest. And therefore, by considering the priestly office first, we shall not only come to appreciate the central office, but we will then have a basis of considering with some degree of accuracy the nature and function of his office as prophet on the one hand and king on the other. And then we considered, secondly, last Lord's Day, the reality of his priestly office. It has been a source of great debate in the history of the church, and it is to the present hour.

5:07 Does Jesus Christ save simply by acting in some way analogous to a priest? Does he save in a manner that is in a figurative sense in some way related to the office of priesthood? And the answer of the word of God is an emphatic no. Jesus Christ accomplishes redemption as a real priest.

5:31 And we saw last week that this fact is established because of two simple realities. He is called a priest. In the book of Hebrews, no fewer than eighteen times the terms priest, great priest, and high priest are used of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was assigned this office by the oath of the Almighty.

5:53 The Lord himself swore saying, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And then we know his priestly office is real not only because he is designated as a priest, but because his work is described as a truly priestly function. Everything that a priest must do, Christ did in the work of redemption. and then we concluded our study by focusing upon Hebrews 5 and verse 1 and I ask you to turn there again this morning as we considered the fundamental ideas connected with priestly function.

6:32 And you will never know how my heart leaped within me when in answer to one of the questions in the adult class this morning someone obviously was listening last week and they gave back to Mr. Fisher the substance of this point. You don't know what that does to a preacher. To know that somebody was listening Now, I know you're all looking.

6:50 That's why I preached to your eyeballs. That way you know if they're looking, but you don't know if people are listening. You can tell if their eyeballs are on you. That's a physical thing you can discern.

7:00 But whether the ears are there. You see, the eyeballs can be here in the mind way out in Timbuktu. But somebody was obviously somewhere within these walls, not only with his eyeballs, but with his ears last week, because he gave back that third introductory proposition that we considered last Lord's Day morning. What are the fundamental ideas that attach themselves to the priesthood?

7:23 Well, we studied them in chapter 5 and verse 1. Four things. Every high priest being taken from among men. He is taken from men.

7:37 He is appointed for men in things pertaining to God. that he may offer for sins. And those four ideas are inseparably connected with priestly function. By divine appointment, someone is taken from the ranks of men in a representative position for men with distinct concerns directed towards God in reference to the problem of sin.

8:10 Now as we proceed in our study this morning, That concludes our 100 mile an hour trip along the road. We've already covered it five miles an hour. Let me remind you, boys, girls, men, women, teenagers, that in considering further biblical materials concerning the priesthood of Christ, I am not standing here doing something necessary to earn my salary. I am standing here to proclaim to you the only way in which Almighty God will ever save a fallen son or daughter of Adam.

8:46 If you miss hell, you'll miss it because Jesus Christ in His priestly function did something to keep you from going to hell. This is serious business, kids. that's why we don't have junior church where you're giving little ditty songs and giving little ditty ideas about a little ditty God that's why you kids are here with your parents because if you die at age seven God doesn't have a seven year old hell if you die without the knowledge of Christ you go to the same hell that Hitler's gone to and if you ever miss hell you'll miss it by the same savior that anyone who misses hell will be saved by So as we come to this issue, this is not a matter of more preachers talk on and on.

9:35 When in the world will they ever stop? Listen, these are matters of life and death. And so as we go on in the Scriptures, may God help us to listen as those who believe they are matters of life and death. Now then, having seen from the Scriptures that Jesus Christ does accomplish redemption in the official capacity of a priest, He's called a priest. His work is described as priestly function.

10:01 Having in our minds the biblical notions of priesthood from men, for men, to God on behalf of sin. And I hope all of you have got that down and can run it by as quickly as I have. Now we want to address ourselves to one question this morning. One thing.

The Question Posed: How Does Christ Fulfill His Priestly Task?

10:17 In accommodating the text, I shall say this morning, this one thing I do. And it will be an attempt to answer this question. By what specific activities does our great priest fulfill his task? If his task is that of putting away sin, how, by what activity or activities, does he actually put away that sin?

10:49 Now, to clarify the question and prepare you for the answer, I want to use an illustration. Suppose the governor appointed a citizen of the state of New Jersey to represent the people of New Jersey before Congress with reference to the obtaining of federal funds for the construction of more state parks. If we were to describe this particular individual we would say, number one, by gubernatorial appointment he was taken from among the citizens of New Jersey. Secondly, he was appointed on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey.

11:31 He's going up to Congress not to talk about himself and about his grandmother and his grandchildren and about his visit to the Bahamas. He is going on behalf of the people of New Jersey. He's taken from among them as a representative for them, and he is going specifically to appeal to Congress.

11:52 And he's going with a specific end in view to secure federal funds for more state parts.

11:59 But now we ask the question, how will he accomplish that end? Is the governor going to give him a sign that he'll hang around his neck so he can walk up and down outside both houses of Congress? saying, we want more federal funds for state parks in New Jersey. I am the official rep.

12:17 Is that how he's going to do it? Or is he going to badger the president at the White House and try to twist his arm to do something? How is he going to do it? You see, we know that he's taken from the citizens, for the citizens, to appear before Congress for more federal funds for state parks, but we still don't know by what method he will accomplish that goal.

12:41 And so he asked the governor Governor I glad to represent the people but by what precise means shall I accomplish this end And the governor says we have arranged with the proper authorities that you will do two things Number one you will have an interview with the chairman of the proper committee which must initiate any legislation in this direction And secondly you will have an opportunity to address both houses of Congress Now we know how he going to accomplish his goal He going to do it by means of an interview and by means of a speech to both houses of Congress You say, Pastor Martin, what in the world does that have to do with the priesthood of Christ? Well, hang in there and I'll tell you. You see the parallels, do you? Jesus Christ is

13:27 taken from among the citizens of men. By means of the incarnation, the second person of the Godhead came among us and partook not of the nature of angels, Hebrews 2, but he took upon him the seed of Abraham. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, Romans chapter 8. He was taken from among us, why?

13:50 To represent us. To represent us where? Not before Congress, but before the throne of God, with reference to what? To the obtaining of the putting away of sin.

14:01 But how will he accomplish that end? And God says he'll accomplish it by two things. Sacrifice and intercession. Officially engaged in as an appointed priest.

14:18 And that's all I hope to lay before you from the scriptures this morning. How does Christ accomplish his priestly function is the great concern of our study today. And how will I attempt to answer it? Well, we'll first of all look at the pattern of the Old Testament ritual, and then the pattern of the New Testament fulfillment.

Old Testament Pattern: Day of Atonement Ritual

14:41 All right? Turning with me now to the book of Leviticus, chapter 16. We're going to look at the pattern of the Old Testament ritual. How did an Old Testament priest accomplish his work of putting away or the passing over of sin?

15:06 Remember now, this ritual was not something that came about because the leaders of Israel got together and said, Well, fellas, you know, we've got to have some kind of a religion. And if you're going to have a religion, you've got to have some leaders and you've got to have a place to meet. so let's get us an old tabernacle and let's get us some priests and let's get us some...

15:23 No, no, no, no, no, no. All of this came by divine revelation. Romans, Hebrews 8, 5 said, See thou make all things after the pattern shown thee in the mount. All of this ritual was given by direct revelation from God.

15:41 It is not an expression of the genius of the religious consciousness of the Hebrews. it's an expression of the will of the sovereign God of the Hebrews that's what it is so it has significance as we shall see and when we turn to Leviticus 16 we have the inspired record of the revealed ritual for the day of atonement that great day once a year in Israel when the high priest the only time he did this would actually go in to that inner place that inner sanctuary where God visibly and symbolically dwelt between the cherubim and above the mercy seat. And I shall not read the entire chapter, but I want to catch the main strands of thought with you,

16:28 so perhaps your eye can glance down as I summarize. Verses 1 and 2 are very significant in the whole ritual. They took their journey from Elam. I'm sorry, I'm in Exodus instead of Leviticus.

16:42 Leviticus chapter 16.

16:50 All right. And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died. Here were men who intruded upon the priesthood without authorization. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, that he die not.

17:16 For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Now here's what God is saying. Even though Aaron, unlike these two men that intruded upon the priesthood, he is an appointed priest. But simply because he is an appointed priest does not mean he can come into my burning presence any time he chooses.

17:39 I will dwell in my visible presence upon the mercy seat between the cherubim. You tell Aaron that he is only to come when I bid him come or he shall die. Now what was God saying? God saying coming into his presence is no fool's errand.

17:59 God is saying when any sinner comes into his presence, he better come in the appointed way at the appointed time, or in my wrath I will consume him. That's what God is saying. That's serious business. Come my time, my way, or you die.

18:18 That's the message. All right, now God says, I'm going to tell you what my time is and what my way is. So in the next verses, we find the preparation of the high priest himself in verses 3 through 10. And then in verses 11 through 14, we have the record of how the high priest, because he was a sinner, had to make an offering for himself before he could make an offering for the people.

18:42 Now notice the elements of that offering for himself. Verses 11 through 14. Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself, for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself. Now he did this out in the open court of the tabernacle where the altar of sacrifice was placed.

19:08 This was not behind that veil and in the secret place. So he kills the bullock and then he takes a censer, a bowl full of coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony that he die not. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat on the east.

19:43 And before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Now get the picture. Here the people see the priest take this bullock that is for himself. The animal is slain.

19:55 The blood is caught. And now the priest, with the basin of blood in the one hand, and with the coals and the incense on the other, goes in behind the veil, out of sight, and there he takes the coals that were there upon the altar of sacrifice, and they ignite the incense upon the mercy seat, and then it is sprinkled with blood. What two elements are here? The element of sacrifice, and the element of presentation or intercession.

20:26 The blood spilt upon the altar, but not presented on the mercy seat, had no efficacy to forgive or pass over the sin of the high priest. If he had spilt the blood upon the altar and simply poured it out upon the base of the altar and dared to come into the holy place without blood for the mercy seat, God would have struck him dead. Furthermore, if he simply came with blood and no incense ignited from coals from off the altar, the passage says he would die. There had not only to be the application of the blood of sacrifice upon the mercy seat, but there had to be the incense ascending up between the cherubim, as it were,

21:15 into the very presence of the living God. Those activities were essential. Now you say, oh, I find this wearisome. My friend, listen, we're dealing with what Christ has done to keep you out of hell.

21:29 Don't find that wearisome.

21:33 Think, God is so holy, you are so sinful, that without this, in its wonderful counterpart, you could not be saved. Now verses 15 to 19. He's going to offer for the people now. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people.

21:50 Now notice. And bring his blood within the veil. and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat and he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions, even all their sins, so shall he do for the tent of meeting that dwelleth with them in the midst of the congregation. Now then, do you see, everything that he did with reference to himself he must do with reference to the people, so that the essential activities by which sin was put away are two.

22:32 The shedding of the blood, which is called in theological terminology an oblation, and it's also used in the Bible, it's simply another word for sacrifice. The first activity of the priest was the shedding of blood or the work of oblation, But then, there was the presentation of the blood and of the incense, or that which we may call intercession. So in the Old Testament ritual, the two activities of the priest by which sin was to be put away are oblation, intercession. Shedding of blood, presentation of blood.

Heavenly Things and Earthly Shadows

23:11 Now if you ask yourself, as you've read this in the past, why such details? Why these details? Will you turn to Hebrews 8, please, and we have God's answer.

23:23 These details are essential because, Hebrews chapter 8, God had said to Moses, verse 5, at the middle, we start with verse 4. Now, if he were on earth, speaking of Christ, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law. who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Even as Moses was warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle, see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown thee in the mount.

24:05 Now here is the phrase that is significant. They serve a copy and shadow of heavenly things. heavenly things, earthly shadows. You got the two sets of words?

24:24 Heavenly things. A thing is something substantial. This pulpit is a thing. I can lay hold of it.

24:33 I can knock on it. I can squeeze it. That microphone stand is a thing. A shadow?

24:40 I can't hold it. I'm looking at my shadow. I can't grab it. I can't peel it off the floor.

24:44 You have heavenly things and earthly shadows. Keep that in mind as we read just a sentence or part of a sentence from Hebrews 10 in verse 1. For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things. Now here you have it again.

25:09 Shadows and things. Things and shadows. now what is a shadow well a shadow is simply an extension of a real thing here's a real thing here there's a shadow on the stage behind me as we saw last week these cross spotlights throwing two shadows there's a shadow all you kids can see it can't you on the curtain there can you see the shadows can you see the shadow the shadow is made because there's something upon which light is cast, a substantial reality. Without a substantial reality, you can't have a shadow.

25:50 Now, what is the real thing? My hand or the shadow? Well, you say, your hand's the real thing. All right.

25:57 What is the real priesthood? Aaron with his garments on, with his breastplate, and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, with a basin of blood going into the veil? God says, no, that's just a shadow. The real thing is in heaven, where there's a real presence and there is real access to the living and the true God And what God did for Moses in a sense God allowed him to see the real things And he says what is there on earth must be an accurate, as far as is possible, an accurate shadow of the real thing.

26:39 For you see, the thing determines the shape of the shadow. On that curtain right now is the shadow of my hand. If I hold the fingers open, the fingers appear open on the shadow. If I close them, the hand appears as one unit.

26:54 The shadow is influenced by the shape and form of the thing. Why all those details in Leviticus? Because the shadow was taking its form from the reality. Why did the priest have to spill blood and then present blood?

27:10 Why did he have to make an oblation and then an intercession? because the real thing was comprised of oblation and intercession, of blood shedding and blood presenting. For Christ was the man slain from the foundation of the world. Salvation is no afterthought in the mind of God.

27:31 In all of its glorious and gracious details, it lay in His heart from eternity. And therefore, when He would give expression to its shadow, He gives details that are in some degree commensurate with the substantial realities themselves.

New Testament Reality: Christ's Oblation in Hebrews 9-10

27:52 That brings us then to consider the pattern of New Testament reality. We've looked at the pattern of the Old Testament shadow, what it was, and why it was the way it was. Now we look at the pattern of the New Testament reality. and we find when we ask the question, how does Christ function as a priest in the salvation of His people?

28:15 And the explicit teaching of the book of Hebrews is, He functions as a priest by two things, oblation or shedding of blood, and intercession or the presentation of blood in the person of the priest. Let's look at the text together. First of all, Hebrews 9, verses 11 through 14. Here we look at the text which showed that as a priest, Christ made a sacrifice of blood, even his own blood.

28:47 For he could be what the shadow could not be. The shadow had to be split. The priest could not be the thing offered. Christ was both priest and lamb.

28:57 Both offerer and offering. The shadow, simply because of the physical impossibility, could not show that accurately. But now that Christ has come, the Spirit is given, God has revealed it. Hebrews 9, in the first ten verses, the writer to the Hebrews says simply this.

29:17 The old economy was telling us things are not yet perfect. Everything was saying nothing perfect. Repetition was saying nothing perfect. But, but, in the new economy, verse 11, Christ having come a high priest of good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.

30:03 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled sanctify to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God, Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Do you see what he is saying? Christ's work in redemption was a bona fide priestly activity that involved the shedding of His own precious blood. He was both the priest who slayed the victim and Himself the victim in that priestly activity.

30:47 But it is through His blood that He entered, having obtained eternal redemption. We find a similar emphasis in Hebrews 10. In verses 1 to 4, He picks up that same thought again. The old was imperfect.

31:05 The old was a shadow. But then, beginning with verse 5, He shows that there is perfection in Christ as a priest. Christ takes a body to Himself. This is the teaching of verses 5 through 9.

31:20 And why did he take that body? Verse 10. By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For every high priest standeth day by day, ministering and offering oft times the same sacrifices the which can never take away sins.

31:40 But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. What did he do as a priest? He did not do something that was in some way parallel to, in some degree or another, the work of a priest. He was a true priest.

32:03 And though Jesus Christ hung naked upon Calvary's cross, He was not naked in His position before God. He was clothed with priestly garments as He hung upon that cross. He was not the helpless victim of the shenanigans of those apostate religious leaders. He was not the helpless victim of the power of the Roman government.

32:27 He was a high priest who regally walked to the place of sacrifice, offered himself up upon that Roman cross that was his altar, and there spilled his blood as his supreme act of joyful obedience to his Father. Just as surely as Aaron would come to the day of atonement with great joy, knowing that to him was given the unspeakable privilege of going from the place of shedding the blood into the presence of God to present that blood, that God might continue covenant faithfulness to his people, that he may pass over sin for another year. Think of the joy in the heart of Aaron.

33:13 It is nothing compared to the joy in the heart of the Son of God, who willingly, who deliberately, who has the supreme act of His joyous obedience, Lo, I come to do Thy will, is the language of Hebrews 10. And the demands of that will came to their most taxing point of focus, when in the imagery of Scripture Jesus Christ goes to the altar not to present another victim but to present Himself the sacrifice and by His own precious blood obtains redemption for His people. But the same book of Hebrews makes clear that there was not only oblation

New Testament Reality: Christ's Intercession in Hebrews 7 and 9

33:59 or the shedding of His blood, there was intercession or the presentation of His blood. Turn to Hebrews 7. Hebrews chapter 7, verses 23 through 25.

34:14 Having underscored the fact that Jesus Christ was made a priest by the very oath of the Almighty, a priest not after the order of Aaron, but of Melchizedek, he says in verse 23, And they indeed have been made priests, many in number, because by death they are hindered from continuing. But he, because he abideth forever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost, that is, to a complete salvation, then to draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens.

35:06 Who needeth not daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people? For this he did, that is, offered for the sins of the people, once for all, when he offered up himself. Now you see the two things that are brought together? once for all offered up himself, ever liveth to make intercession.

35:29 Indicating that our salvation is as much rooted in the intercession as it is in the oblation. And then the second key text in Hebrews that points to this second priestly activity of intercession, Hebrews 9, 23 and 24. It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

36:00 The earthly tabernacle, there had to be the sprinkling of blood for the defilement that was present even in the physical accoutrements of that tabernacle. But he says the heavenly tabernacle also needed to be cleansed. Cleansed how? For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands like in pattern to the true.

36:22 You see? That's your shadow and pattern. The true is the substantial realities that Christ has come to effect. But into heaven itself now to appear before the face of God for us.

Oblation and Intercession as One Complex Priestly Work

36:39 Having shed his blood, he now appears behind the veil in the presence of God on the half of his people. Now then, the question that we want to wrestle with as we bring this to a conclusion this morning is this. Are we brought near and saved by the oblation or by the intercession? Well, as one perceptive student of Scripture has said, and I quote, The essence of the intercession is the atonement, and the atonement is essentially an intercession.

37:20 Think with me now. The blood shed and not presented before God on behalf of those for whom it was shed, effected nothing. The blood shed but not presented could not secure forgiveness. Furthermore, a presentation of the person of the priest without the blood shed upon the altar could effect nothing.

37:49 Suppose Aaron just came traipsing right in behind the veil with incense and coals but no blood. God would strike him dead. Intercession not based upon oblation had no efficacy before God. Oblation that did not extend into intercession had no efficacy in the presence of God.

38:13 Do you see that? Do you see that? Yes? No?

38:17 Do you see it? Nod your head if you do. It will make all the labors of the week worthwhile to know that you see that. You grasp that.

38:24 so that we are not saved by Jesus Christ acting in the official capacity of a priest, offering up, as it were, an oblation as one distinct act, and intercession as another separate act. No, no. We are saved by the official priestly activity of Jesus Christ, which necessarily involves the two aspects of oblation and intercession, with the oblation forming the basis of the intercession, and with the intercession forming the extension and application of the oblation upon the altar.

39:13 Again, to clarify the issue, let me ask you, What's more important as you've sat there breathing over the past hour and 15 minutes? Inhaling or exhaling?

39:32 You been doing it now without even knowing it Now what was more important in that complex physical activity known as breathing which is more important, your inhaling or your exhaling? You say, I'm for inhaling.

39:47 All right, you try for the next five minutes to do nothing but inhale. And we'll be carrying you out.

39:55 Some say, oh, you get rid of the poisons when you exhale. I'm all for exhaling. Well, you try nothing but exhaling, we'll be carrying you out. You see, inhaling and exhaling are the inseparable complex of physical activity essential to the one activity of breathing.

40:13 Now, do you see the application? Jesus Christ, our great high priest, has taken upon himself not a typical salvation, Not a passing over of sins in some insufficient, in some unsettled, inadequate way. No, no. He's taken upon Himself so to deal with the righteous law of Almighty God.

40:37 So to deal with the moral demands of Him whose eyes cannot look upon iniquity with favor. so to have just as it were the whole machinery of the moral universe so that God may be just and the justifier of believers. What has He done? In His priestly robes, He has come forth from the Father through a virgin's womb in order to offer Himself up unto God upon that cross and so to absorb into himself all of the righteous anger of God against the sins of his people that he feels its last drop drained and cries, Tetelestai, it is finished!

41:25 In that very moment, through the eternal Spirit, not later in the heresy of Seventh-day Adventist theology, At that very moment, through the eternal Spirit, the virtue of that blood is carried within the veil and presented upon the true mercy seat. And God in heaven says, I want you to know I've accepted it. So he took his finger and he split the veil in that earthly temple. He says, you want to know what's happened up here?

41:50 I'll let the shadow down there show it. Hallelujah. And the finger of God split the veil. Why?

41:55 The shadow must accord with the reality. God says the way is open. The blood has been presented. The high priest who by virtue of his true humanity has a body still hanging on a cross.

42:09 Through the eternal spirit he is not upon the cross. He is before the veil of heaven presenting his blood. And the father is pleased. And so he takes his finger and splits the veil.

42:23 And says the way is open. And then in the language of the word of God. after his resurrection, spending a little more time with those to whom he would entrust the work of his kingdom. The scripture says he goes back into the presence of God.

42:38 And there he now, by his presence, and we shall see in subsequent studies, ever lives for one great task to intercede for us. So that every blessing that comes to us as the people of God comes as the fruit, not of the once-for-all purchase applied to us on just legal grounds. That would be grace enough. But the once-for-all purchase applied on the grounds of the intimate, personal, living ministry of our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary who there pleads our cause in the presence of the Father.

43:24 You see, that's why there are passages in the Bible that say, we're saved by the intercession. Other passages which say we're saved by the oblation. The two are so joined together that it's not either or. And because the intercession has no meaning apart from the oblation upon which it is based, and the oblation has no meaning apart from the intercession to which it leads, They form one complex.

43:54 Just as much as I can say, I know you're alive if you're exhaling, I can say, I know you're alive if you're inhaling, because if you're doing either, you're doing the other. And so God says, if you're alive, it's because Christ made an oblation. It's because Christ makes intercession. But they are but two facets of the one complex priestly work that our blessed Lord performs for His own.

Urging Against Separation of the Two Activities

44:18 In conclusion then, may I urge you never to think of oblation and intercession as two isolated activities with two distinct functions aimed at two different ends, securing two different results for two different classes of people? No, no. Let us gaze upon our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture and behold Him in His work of oblation and intercession as one complex and coordinated priestly activity with one distinct function, with one identical end, with one infallible result for one people, the elect of God. Now what is all this to you?

45:05 What is all this to you as you sit here this morning? has your heart run out and said hallelujah what a savior what is all this to you sitting right there this morning my friend listen to me I come right back to where I started in the introduction you see the subsoil on which everything has been built today as we've opened up these passages is the reality of the true and living God who does exist the true and living God who is so holy that he cannot tolerate sin nor will he deal favorably with the sinner apart from the cleansing of blood, the blood of innocent victim.

45:48 And if those great realities of God and sin and the law of God and the justice of God and the holiness of God, if those are not burning issues to you, you can hear a sermon like this morning and say, Ho-hum, big deal, so what? My friend, listen to me, young or old, man or woman, boy or girl, if that's been the disposition of your heart, may God have mercy upon you. Unless that's radically changed, ere you exhale your last breath,

46:16 it were better for you, you'd never been born. Because you'll meet that great and holy God in the day of judgment, and you'll have no intercessor to present the virtue of His own oblation and intercession on your behalf. Then you will wish that somehow you could be driven back to that abyss of nothingness before you were ever conceived in your mother's womb. To stand before that great God who sent his Son because he took his own holiness seriously, who sent his Son because he takes human sin seriously, to stand before the priest when he sits upon the throne as the judge in the exercise of his regal

Application: Richer Comfort for the Child of God

47:02 and kingly office, it were better for you that you'd never been born if you stand before Him without Him as your priestly intercessor. And dear child of God, as I trust we shall see in subsequent studies, will you not plead that God the Holy Spirit will open up and make real? And will you not give yourself to careful meditation and contemplation and perusal of these passages, the doctrine of Christ's priestly office understood and applied by the Spirit is the ground of some of the most solid consolation for the child of God. Many of us for years have found great consolation when our sins have risen up and our consciences have condemned us.

47:51 We've looked back to that one act of oblation upon the cross and we've said, O God, I do believe that my sins were punished in Christ and we have found comfort and we've been able to make our way back into the position of fellowship and obedience solely on the grounds of the legal rightness of forgiveness based upon the cross two thousand years ago. Oh dear child of God there is richer comfort for you. Not to despise nor to cancel that but oh to know that the virtue of that sacrifice is mine not only by the reflection of faith looking backward, but by the actings of faith going upward in the language of Hebrews 10.

48:38 And having a great high priest, let us draw near. Having right now in the work of intercession. And then you see, my forgiveness is not just a matter of legal reality. It is a matter of personal intimacy with my high priest who bears me upon his breast in the presence of my Father.

49:10 Oh, may we cry to God to pull back the veil and give us a sight. To know that this morning, dear people, as really as I have sought to stand and minister the Word, in no sense a priest, we shall come to the abominable practice of any clergyman calling himself a priest and intruding upon the rights of the Son of God. It is blasphemous. I stand here a redeemed sinner, a servant of Christ and His people, and as I've sought to give myself to minister the Word, what joy it gives me to know right now in the engagement of all of His glorified faculties,

49:56 my blessed Lord has been ministering with no less an energy to secure my salvation. He is my high priest after the power of an endless life. And He can bear with unwearied faithfulness all the concerns of all of His people in all of their vicissitudes, in all of their changes, and He's going to save us to the uttermost. Hallelujah!

Closing Praise and Prayer

50:23 What a Savior! Let us pray.

50:29 Oh, God.

50:34 Oh, our Heavenly Father, how we praise You this morning for such a Savior as is our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your willingness to receive that appointment in the eternal councils of the Father to become a priest after the order of Melchizedek. We thank you that in the power of that endless life you even now intercede for us. and oh we ask that you would have mercy upon those whose eyes are so blinded by the glitter and tinsel of this age whose hearts are so besotten with attachment to sin that there is no true joy and excitement

51:24 at the contemplation of your glory as our official high priest oh father show mercy to such we pray and we ask that for us whose eyes have been opened and whose ears have been unstopped you would take us into a new appreciation of what it is to have the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. Seal the word to our hearts. May that last day reveal that even this day you were pleased to open blinded eyes and unstop deafened ears, as well as to enrich the hearts of your people. Receive our thanks for your presence.

52:11 O Lord, how blessed it is in the meditation upon the Word to be given by the Spirit the ability to see Him who is the great focal point and declaration of that Word, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. receive then the praises that we offer. May the benediction of your own blessed presence that has been our portion in this place in the past hour be our portion throughout this day. Hear our cry as we make it in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ our great priest who even now makes these prayers acceptable before you.

52:57 Amen.

52:59 Thank you.