Bible Reading: Hebrews 10:4-18 — Joel Portman

The passage will tell us that once for all He finished the work which the Father gave Him to do. And in contrast to all other sacrifices, He is the one that has opened up the way back to God. And we thank Thee this morning for our occupation.

Help us then later in Thy will, as a company of Thine own, we will gather round this person to tell the Father what we think of the Son. Help us, Father, this day, and that there might be appreciations in our hearts as we hear this passage unfolded to us.

Receive thanks for all that we received yesterday, and bless Thee, Company, that gathered in the different sessions, and the convening assembly, that Thou wouldst richly bless Thine people. Help us now, as we settle to hear Thy word, and to hear Thy voice, and give thanks in His honored name.

Amen. And we'll come together to read this passage and to consider a portion from Hebrews chapter 10, verse 4 through verse 18. We'll begin reading from verse 4. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Wherefore, when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice an offering Thou wouldst not, but a body hast Thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book that is written of me, to do Thy will, O God.

Above what He said, Sacrifice an offering, and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.

He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

Wherefore, the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. And the practical results are developed in the verses that follow, and the blessings that pertain to those who are identified with such a Savior.

Now I trust that God will give us help as we consider this passage together. Bible reading is not a time for warfare or combativeness. We're here that we might learn together and share thoughts mutually in relation to this lovely passage.

We hope that brethren, not only those that are commended and full-time laborers, but also other brethren from local assemblies will feel free to take part, asking questions on contributing to this Bible reading.

The Father's Will and Christ's Perfect Submission

I think the very simple outline of the section is to look at it, and the first part gives us the perfect submission of our Lord Jesus in relation to the will of the Father. The will of the Father was expressed, and He devoted Himself to the fulfillment of that will.

And of course, prophetically speaking, Psalm 40 anticipated His willingness to come into this world. Setting aside that which had run its course and was no longer valid so far as God was concerned, and accomplishing that work in the second section that is sanctified forever, His people, and brought them to perfection.

So we have the first part, obviously, that indicates to us the will of the Father, and the submission of the Lord Jesus to that will, to accomplish it. And then the work that resulted in verse 10, down through verse 14, that has brought eternal blessing to us.

And then the verification of it in the witness of the Holy Spirit. Not only in view of a future restoration that Israel will one day come into, verse 16, but you and I are pleasantly enjoying the spiritual results of the reality of that which has come from His work on the cross.

Hebrews and the Superiority of Christ

I'm sure that my brethren, in reading this epistle, could develop any thoughts that were leading up to this particular point. I would take it that this passage that we're looking at today is a culmination of the argument that the writer to the Hebrews has been giving us from the beginning.

It's a summing up, bringing this doctrinal section to the end. And now he's going to follow that by launching into a practical application and the results that come from it. And considering the different comparisons of the Lord Jesus, it's evident that the Spirit of God is emphasizing His absolute superiority.

Everything that was naturally valuable or attractive to the Hebrew mind. I would suggest to you that it begins with a comparison with angels in chapter one. That which is most distant and yet very important in the minds of a Hebrew believer in that day, but distant from what he is coming to.

He's gradually moving on and on, closer and closer to what he has really in mind. And that is the superiority of Christ and His priesthood and His sacrificial work of the cross. He proceeds from Moses by way of a passing comparison with Adam.

Then he comes to the angels and then Adam and then Moses in chapter three. Then going into the comparison with Aaron and the Aaronic priesthood showing his superiority. And then the result of it or the work of it rather in verse in chapter nine, where the great value of the sacrifice that was accomplished once for all has been emphasized for our understanding.

I take it that in chapter nine, there's a strong emphasis on the blood that he shed of the cross. He didn't offer a sacrifice of an animal, but he offered himself. A spotless, innocent sacrifice for sin.

And again, repeatedly at the end of that chapter, he's emphasizing the fact that it was once for all. It will never, ever be repeated again. And so coming into chapter 10, he begins in chapter 10 by showing that the law failed in its effectiveness because there had to be a continual reminder that every year on the day of atonement, sins were brought back to mind again.

A recognition was made that the work that had been previously accomplished was not sufficient. It had to be repeated. The repetition of Old Testament sacrifices prove their inability to take away sins.

They completely cleanse and remove the conscience through the conscience of sin. He says that they had been able to do that. Then the worshiper once purged would have had no more conscience of sin, not consciousness, but conscience of sin, because he would have been able to appreciate the fact that he stood before God without condemnation.

But that was not possible. On these verses we have to look at today, let me just call your attention to a few things that have been on my mind. There are three times in this section, the first part that he speaks of the word coming.

In verse five, he cometh into the world. I would take that to be a definite moment, an act of coming. I would relate that to his incarnation. My brother may not agree with that. We'll see. In verse seven, we have the expression, Lo, I am come, which is a different tense indicating to us the fact of his coming, but also the realization of his work that he came to accomplish.

Here he is in this world. I would personally link that just by way of suggestion with his baptism. Then when we come down to the verse nine, he says, Lo, I am come to do thy will. I like to link it personally with a thought of Calvary.

So we have him coming into the world, moving steadfastly onward to the place where he would accomplish that great work to put away sin once for all. And again in this section, we notice, and we'll probably take it up in discussion, there are three times he uses the expression take away.

In verse five, verse four rather, impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. We come down the chapter, we find in verse nine that he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

That's a different word. Then we come down the chapter to verse 11, the same sacrifices which could never take away sin. That's another different word. We have three different words that are used in this section that I believe will pique our interest and perhaps give us something to look at in relation to the teaching of him.

The wonderful truth is that what he did was accomplished and will bring its results not only for you and me presently, but also for all the way the nation of Israel and its restoration. A new covenant, all that has been established completely on one work, sacrificially accomplished, will stand in all of its value forever.

So he concludes it when he comes down to the last two verses, that there's sins and inequities will I remember no more, not because God forgets, but because they're so completely put away. And he says where remission of these is, there is no more, no need for, no further offering for sin.

No need for an offering for sin if sins have been put away. And so we have in this portion a very wonderful section that describes to us what we have come into personally as a result of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I invite my brethren to take part and to participate. Perhaps for a couple of minutes we can link this with previous verses and sections of the epistle to the Hebrews. We don't need to get into discussion of who wrote the epistle.

That's very irrelevant so far as the teaching is concerned. We all would have our different opinions, but we know the Spirit of God has given it by the pen of a human author. And so we take it with appreciation.

And we trust that our discussion of it will be devotional, and that it will be enhancing our worship that will follow and remember Him. The insufficiency and inability of the animal sacrifices were seen that they were inarticulate and passive.

The Inadequacy of Old Testament Sacrifices

Is there an emphasis then in general in the verses to start with? Things that were said, then said I. When He said, then said He. Then no longer passive, but active in the act of willingness. Intelligent understanding of the will of God of what was necessary, you mean, in order to take away sin completely.

The result of sin and the condemnation was death in the beginning. And the death of an animal would never be sufficient to answer that condemnation and judgment. It required the death of an individual.

The year by year continually mentioned in verse 1. You take it that's emphasizing the Day of Atonement? I would believe so.

While there were other offerings offered for sin throughout the year and individually, yet the Day of Atonement was a culmination or accumulation of all of those again. And the realization was brought back to them in that Day of Atonement that all of those had never put away sin after all.

And repeatedly, year after year, that was a bringing back to remembrance. The insufficiency of what had been done the previous year. I would like to start with the whole of what Ernie said we agree with on this particular point we're talking right now.

So, if these Old Testament sacrifices were ineffective, why were they introduced? They were for the time then present. To answer God's requirement and anticipation, I believe, of the work that he is speaking about here.

And to give a means by which God could forgive their sins in view of the work of the cross. So they had a typical aspect. But it was also a means, I believe, personally, by which the individual Israelite could acknowledge his guilt.

And have it dealt with in a way that would answer to his own conscious requirements before God. Were sins forgiven or covered over? Leviticus 4 says, it shall be forgiven him. So I'll take that ground, brother.

I don't like the expression covered over. Individually, they were forgiven. But not necessarily only on the value of the sacrifice made, but in view of what it pointed to. We read in Romans of the passing over of the sins that are... the forgiveness of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.

And that I take it to be the Old Testament sacrifices. I mean the Old Testament sins that were committed of the law. Now the word atonement does carry the thought of covered over. Do you want to elaborate on that definition?

And maybe... Why don't you? Atonement, I believe, is an abrasive term that takes in the entire work of putting away and dealing with sin. In its fundamental meaning, it has the thought of covering over.

But it also has a wider meaning, I believe, that takes in the entirety of the work of... that was required to deal with sin. Now, I don't know if others agree with that or not. But we have it in different uses, I think, in the Old Testament as well as the New.

It's linked with a mercy seat, isn't it? That was the covering on the ark. And it's the covering upon which the blood was sprinkled. And within that ark, there are the tables of the law. So, coming between a holy God and the tables of the law, which man has violated, you have the covering, as it were, of the blood on the mercy seat.

So, would it be right, Brother Joel, to say then, that an Old Testament person was saved on the credit system in view of what would happen at Calvary? Is that a right statement? That's a nice way of putting it.

It's often been expressed that way. In anticipation, God had in view what was taking place here. So then, the next point then is, would the Old Testament person have the joy that we have?

Can't tell you. Weren't they bringing those sacrifices which God prescribed on the principle of faith? They were. And on the principle of faith, they were actually forgiven? Absolutely.

The verse 4, this word take away, is a word that means a total removal. They could not totally remove sins. The inadequacy of the sacrifice, the inadequacy of the value of the victim, could never completely, finally, totally take away sins.

Else there was no need for Christ. There's no need if that was valuable. Just to go back a little bit, the Old Testament and sacrifices, wasn't it a way of laying a righteous ground where God would not have to bring judgment upon the people?

Whereas the New Testament goes beyond that on the verge of reconciliation. It met the requirements under the law that were righteous so far as God was concerned and provided the grounds because it was the, not the time and God's purposes for Christ to come.

Shadow of good things to come. Shadow of good things to come. Now we need to keep on. It's already 20 minutes past. So let's move into verse 5 through verse 9. In relation to the will of the Father and the Lord's perfect submission to that will.

Christ's Voluntary Incarnation and Obedience

When he cometh into the world, he said. Picking up the words of Psalm 40, prophetically anticipating his coming. Interesting that he says sacrifice and offering in verse 5. In verse 6 it's burnt offerings and sacrificing for sin.

In verse 8 it's sacrifice offering, burnt offerings and offerings for sin. I would take it he's expanding the subject to take in every aspect of all the sacrificial system that was under the law. That's good brother.

Would it be right to say that these words weren't heard by human ears? Is this to divine persons? Absolutely. But calling an incarnation, keeping with the wisdom, the will, the desire of the Father, agreement with the law, obedience, suffering of the son.

In Psalm 40, starting at verse 6 where the quotation starts, you have the word sacrifice and offerings thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened. But here when it's quoted in Hebrews 10, instead of the expression, mine ears hast thou opened, you have the expression, a body hast thou prepared me.

Is there a reason for that?

I believe there is. I would like to say first though brother that his coming into the world and saying this was a deliberate act on his part voluntarily undertaking that work. It was the will of the Father and the purpose of God for eternity.

It wasn't like the old testament animal victim perhaps dragged to the altar against their own will without any intelligent understanding of what was going on. This was an intelligent, voluntary, deliberate act.

He said and he knows what, of course, the Lord perfectly knew that the fulfillment of that Old Testament passage applied to him. Sacrifice and offering would take in, I take it, the animal sacrifices as well as the meal offering, the offerings and other offerings.

So in a general way, it's the entire aspect of sacrificial system. But when you speak about the thought of the body being prepared, here is contrasted with the ear being formed. We know that the instrument of the body that is receptive to the commands that are received is the ear.

We have in Isaiah 50, the one whose ear was opened morning by morning. So I take it that it's emphasizing that. Of course, this is subdued in translation here. Which takes that up and emphasizes the fact that the ear is representative of the entire body.

It is perfect obedience and submission to accomplish the will of God. The ear couldn't suffer on the cross what the entire body did, the person. But the ear represented his attitude and receptiveness to the will of God and perfect delight in doing so.

So I take it the Spirit of God has a purpose in changing that from just the ear. I don't take it that it refers to Exodus 20, the Hebrew servant. That's a nice application. But it has primarily the formation of the ear as the instrument of the body that is able to take in the command and respond to it.

And as you said, the emphasis in chapter 9 is on the blood. Chapter 10 on the body, that instrument of self-surrender, of submission, and the attitude of the servant. So what's in you and I, what I draw on prepared?

Tell us about that. The body prepared. Well, it wasn't a happenstance. It wasn't just a matter of without purpose. God prepared that body exactly as God intended it. Perfect, humanly perfect. And truly human in every aspect of the word.

But it was a divine act of God that brought it about, wasn't it? Absolutely. What I'm getting at is some are teaching us that that body was prepared in heaven. And I don't think that that's the idea. I don't believe so.

But you have given the sense.

Thank you. So wouldn't it be. From the moment of conception in Mary's womb, the Lord was incarnate because of the reaction of Elizabeth when Mary came to visit.

Yeah. Well, it's an act of the Holy Spirit. Man has no part in it. That's a supernatural thing that we can't understand. Those tears. Truly human with one exception. He never had the Adam nature. No. Perceived by the Spirit of God in absolute holiness.

Yeah, in fact, it doesn't matter. There's another question of whether he would sit. No. The question is, he could not sit. Right. So it's in that sense a body prepared perfectly suitable for that sacrificial work because there was no sin or even a potential to sin.

So there's a wonder involved here that we can't understand. It's the emphasis on to do thy will in God in the sense that there never was an animal that willingly liked to be sacrificed and we never were conscious of the purpose of it.

But he was not only fully conscious of what he was going to do or have to do, but that would be the purpose of his heart to have not been fulfilled. I think that in verse 6 we need to notice this expression.

Why is it that he says in burnt offerings and sacrifice of her sin that would be the sweet savor and the non-sweet savor offerings. Why does he say I have no pleasure? Why were they given if God had no pleasure in them?

No satisfaction? Perhaps that's the thought. I would tell you that there was no pleasure in them because they couldn't completely accomplish the work. And it was continually reminding of the failure of the human nature.

The impossibility that every time they offered a sin offering or a burnt offering it was a recognition of their own incapacity to measure up to God's will. In contrast to this person who came with a holy desire to do the will of God and with no need to sacrifice for himself.

Those that are offering to the Old Testament had to offer those sacrifices because of their own sinful nature and their own deeds and their failure. So there's no pleasure in that so far as God was concerned.

Because what he was looking forward to and taking pleasure in is what took place at the cross of Calvary.

God for the most part never blamed Israel for all the sacrifices they brought. But he did blame them for the lack of adoration. Psalm 50 points that out. Because we're handling a thousand hills of mine.

And everything belongs to me so what you're bringing really belongs to me but you're lacking in your adoration and worship. And we notice in the end of the Old Testament that their lack of appreciation of what those sacrifices involved led them to bring deficient and even sacrifices that didn't even measure up whatsoever.

Brother Roy. I joined his brother.

Other brethren have a contribution. God bless you. I was just wondering about what Mr. Skinner had for joy and what's the significance of the Spirit of Ascension on his baptism if he was incarnate.

At conception? That was the anointing the initiation of his public ministry. He was anointed with power. Identified to John the Baptist as being the Messiah and the one that God had sent into the world.

He was incarnate for the moment of conception. He became into manhood into humanity. But the baptism and the descent of the Spirit of God was the commencement of his public ministry. There was two things in regards to the real offering.

There was the amingment which was not the idea of conception. And then there was the anointing. Is it significant that he says in the volume of the book that he's writing the Hebrews and he's taking them back to what they have accepted in the volume of the book of the Old Testament Scriptures and then improving from that for them Christ's life?

Can everybody hear?

We're not speaking up brethren. We keep trying to get you to speak up. People can't hear you. So the volume of the book he said.

In relation to the Hebrew readers of this epistle has reminded them that the Old Testament Scriptures were continually pointed forward to the Lord Jesus. He was the one that was in view. It was the entire role of the book.

I would take it more than just Moses' writings but the entirety of all the Old Testament.

So the Lord Jesus obviously intelligently was moving in the energy of the Spirit of God to fulfill all that was written of him. So in Luke chapter 24 he expounded onto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

We could put in there the role of the book. Moses and the prophets take it in the entire Old Testament. Coming down to verse 8.

We have the expansion of the offering. Sacrifices seems to be linked with the peace offering. And the offering with a meal offering. Bird offerings of course. The sweet savor offering. And offerings for sin would take in the sin offering and the trespass offering.

So in all the offerings under the Levitical system he said thou wouldst not. But neither has pleasure therein which are offered by the law but he said lo I am come. So his coming was what was anticipated by all those sacrifices.

While they could never affect the work so far as God was concerned they pointed forward to him as we've been saying a shadow of him and his work of the cross. He said lo I am come. I take it that word lo I am come is not only his coming but his fulfillment of the purpose of coming.

I have entered into that responsiveness and I'm here for the accomplishment of that work. And he did so of course by moving out to the cross. In view of what we have at the end of verse 9 that takes away the verse that establishes the second is this really one of the points that really is being emphasized in this?

The old is taken away but he's establishing now something that is new. As a principle of scripture the first is always set aside it seems for the second. Because the first was always seen in its failure whether it's Adam or the priesthood of Aaron or the sacrificial system under the Levitical law.

It was always unable displayed in ability and failure. But that which has come in is the second man. Would that sum up brother the whole epistle? These people are saying Judaism was given by God so we are continuing what he has given us.

Would that not say here it is? That's certainly in view. And the word he taken away here is a word that is actually used for executing. Murdering. Taking out. Abolishing totally. It's not just taking it away but bringing it to an absolute final end.

He says he's taken that away. There's no more of it. So don't go back to it. Don't continue with it. He's taken it away. But he's established permanently the second. That will never be taken away. It's a strong word.

Abolished. Destroyed. Induresting on his house where translated slave. Killed. So the will of God from eternity ultimately pointed to this great event. And only one person ever came into this world consciously knowing what the will of God was.

We come in innocently, unknowingly without an awareness. He came into incarnation perfectly knowledgeable of what the will of God was and with a determination to do it. The law of God was not written on pages for him to read.

It was in his heart. And his delight was to do the will of God. So he stands in contrast to all the Old Testament worthings as well as those who were involved in the sacrificial system. He came deliberately, knowingly, voluntarily, intelligently to do the will of God.

Sanctification and the Believer's Position

Now we'll move into the work of Christ in relation to sanctification unless there are other questions. We need to keep moving. By the witch will I take that to be God's will. God's will is that by means of this sacrifice accomplished to the cause of the perfectly submissive, willing victim we would be sanctified to the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

So that's all position. Is that right? I believe that's so. We have a positional sanctification through the blood of the Lord Jesus through the work that he accomplished on our behalf. We have a sanctification by the Spirit which is a personal experience of realizing the grace of God and the work of the Spirit of God in us.

John 17 there's a sanctification by the Word which is of course a different thought altogether. But here we have it sanctified here by the blood or by the offering. Father do you want the word positional?

Positional has to do with the place that you and I occupy as believers before God. How he sees us. There should be a practical correspondent with our position but we are positionally as he says perfected down verse it's perfected forever verse 14.

He's brought us into an absolutely perfect position that can never be improved on. Now where we are physically to be improved on we're looking forward to that. But our position spiritually is absolutely and perfectly suited to what God desired us to be.

We are seen in Christ with no charge of sin against us no condemnation sins are not remembered they're taken away completely. What could be better? And we have the Spirit of God within us to verify that.

Ephesians 1 accepted in the beloved. It's taken into favor completely without any reservation. Sanctified indicates that we've been set apart. Now the property pertaining to him and also corresponding to him in relation to his holy character sanctified is the work of being set apart.

Israel was to be a holy people but they failed in that and positionally God's people are holy. Certainly does that. Whose eternal security. Have we now moved beyond that great sacrifice he made to the effects stemming from that sanctified and we have a priest we'll be looking at that presently.

What stems from that mighty work which he accomplished? Sanctified at a verse 14 perfected. I perfected forever so that there will be no change no improvement no modification perfected for us. So when we come into verse 11 we have five aspects of the Levitical priesthood that were deficient.

He's going to compare them with five aspects of the priestly work of Christ that were far superior. He says first of all it was every priest. So there was a numerous there was a great number of priests.

Every priest. And then they stood because their work was never done. And it was daily it had to be repeated constantly. And they were ministering often times the same sacrifices which could never take away things.

This word take away in verse 11 is a word that is has the idea of divesting ourselves of a role of taking off clothing. He said they could never take away take them off. They continually clung to the person.

They could never be removed. And he says there's a contrast when it comes to the high priesthood work of the Lord Jesus. The sacrificial work. In the book of Hebrews this is the prime problem that they did not have a visible priest that they were acquainted with in the Old Testament.

Now we show them they do have a priest even though he's not visible at the present. Right. So it's take away in the sense of taking away a garment. Something that was a comfort. Also perhaps brother would you go along with the thought that it was that these of the Old Testament economy were clothing themselves in the idea that these Old Testament sacrifices had value to cover them.

And now it's been taken away. And so that the all that pertains to that the sins and all the iniquities and all that could never be removed under the law have now been taken away completely. Removed as a garment.

At the same time I always thought that there was a searching after something. You know as Peter says spirits that was in them searching after something. I thought of the words of Samuel sacrifice and offering the good stuff.

Thoughts of Samuel he said to obey is better than sacrifice. Which connects with your thought of the year and so on. There was a searching after something. Any comments on verse 11 the description of the ministry of the Old Testament priests.

Every priest you know was not a good priest. That was one of the arguments in this epistle that there was a sequence of priests and some of them were good and some of them were not so good. Some were holy and some were unholy.

Some were like Eli some were like Eli's sons. And so the constantly changing priesthood and the people could never be sure because they stood in relation to God on the value of the priesthood. They represented the priest represented the people.

They weren't always sufficient even at the very best to do that. But we have this one verse 12 this man or it's actually this priest. What a contrast he is with all that sequence of Old Testament priests.

One who is always the same and will never give way to another. And perfectly suited to meet every need of the people. That's been developed in the chapters previous to this. We have a wonderful priest.

The sacrifice that he brought was himself. So he was both the priest and the sacrifice.

Let's emphasize that chapter 9 is a by his own blood offer himself and offer himself and the sacrifice of himself. What a contrast they officiated in offering of victims that were unintelligent and incapable of dealing perfectly with sin.

The priest who came to the altar and offered himself in a perfect sacrifice. No deficiency, no possibility of failure in it. When you think of all the sacrifices and you would begin to wonder if you were an Israelite have I offered all the sacrifices that are required?

But here he's offered one sacrifice. That one sacrifice of self. It's really an answer to everything that was anticipated by the Old Testament sacrifices. One sacrifice once for all. That takes in every aspect of all those Old Testament sacrifices.

We have an expression here in verse 12 that is repeated from verse 1. It's the words translated forever in verse 12. One sacrifice for sins forever. Or Newbery has it to perpetuity. In verse 1 it's used with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually or to perpetuity.

Same expression. So in verse 1 it's emphasizing the inadequacy of those offerings and the need for repetition and there was no end to it. If that system had been kept in place. But in verse 12 it is emphasizing the total sufficiency and completeness of that one sacrifice for sins by our Lord Jesus.

Of course one would certainly suggest wouldn't you brother that no matter how long they offered them even perpetually it would never accomplish the work. But here whether you link it with the fact that he sat down forever or he is perfected forever.

Both things are true. But I think in the context he has sat down in perpetuity sat down permanently as a physician. It's not that he's always sitting. But it's the indication of the place that he occupies now because of the finality.

Of the work. That's absolutely true brother. Of course it's true. Louder will you. I said it's true. Amen. But every other use of that to perpetuity eight times in the epistle is referring to the previous expression.