Seeing Christ as Our Apostle and High Priest - Hebrews — Stephen Kaung

The Heavenly Calling to Consider Jesus

Hebrews 3, verse 1,. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus. I'll repeat it. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, as we continue in thy presence, we do pray that thou will remove any veil that may be upon our heart, that we may see Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

We ask thee to grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation unto the full knowledge of God. We pray that as we see him, we may be transformed, that glory may be unto him. We commit this time into thy hands and trust thy Holy Spirit to make thy word, life, and spirit to us.

We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. The letter to the Hebrews is very unique in the books of the Bible. Probably you would say that I usually introduce every book in the Bible in this way. And that is very true.

Because every book in the Bible is unique. And of course, Hebrews is no exception. We do not know for sure who is the writer of this letter, nor do we know for certainty who are the recipients of this letter.

But we do know that this letter must be written before the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. This letter carries with it a very vital message. Not only to the Hebrews, that is the Hebrew believers in the early days, but it is very vital.

It has a very vital message to us who live at the end of the last days. We do not know actually who the human instrument of this letter is. Very probably it may be Apollos, because it seems that Apollos fits with all the circumstantial evidences.

He is a Jew, a Hellenistic Jew, schooling in Alexandria, mighty in the scripture, familiar with the thought and teaching of the Apostle Paul. But of course we know through the centuries there are many other suggestions.

Almost every one you can find in the New Testament. And we do not know for sure whether this letter is addressed to the Hebrew believers in Jerusalem, or to the Hebrew believers in Rome. But we do know that this letter is addressed to the Hebrew believers at a very critical time.

Hebrew believers. They were once under the bondage of the law, but now they are free in Christ Jesus. But even though they are free in Christ Jesus, yet they are still somehow attached to Judaism. It is a very critical moment, a transitional time.

And we know that at the time when this letter was written, before A .D. 70, some change had come upon the world. In the beginning Christianity was considered as a sect of Judaism by the world. During this particular time we know that this attitude was changed.

To be a Christian is considered as a crime to the Roman Empire. But Judaism is still recognized as a legal religion in the Empire. So under such pressure, believers, Hebrew believers, at that time they were under great pressure.

They were under great pressure to return to Judaism in order to be protected. To be secured. But at the same time we know the Spirit of God was moving ahead. God was going to do a tremendous thing. And that was, He was to destroy Jerusalem, the center of Judaism, and even the Temple.

The very center of it all. Now why is it that God was going to make such a move? Because God considered that it was time for these Hebrew believers to be completely freed from Judaism. That they might enter into the fullness of Christ.

So here you'll find a conflict, outwardly, circumstantially, the pressure was to bring these Hebrew believers back to the fold of Judaism. On the other hand you'll find the Spirit of God was moving to take away Judaism, that these Hebrew believers may enter into the fullness of the Gospel.

So this letter is written with that in view. To set the Hebrew believers free from any bondage to Judaism. And to get them into the fullness of Christ. Now in a sense dear brothers and sisters, we too, today, are in a very critical moment.

We know that our Lord is coming back soon. We know that He is looking forward to have a bride, who is His counterpart. He desires to see in His bride every character that belongs to Him. That He may be united with that bride.

And that bride be united with Him into one. This is the time that we know of periods, where sooner or later, be shaken, only that which is real, which is reality, will remain. You know with the Jewish people in the first century, when God revealed Himself to the Jewish nation in the beginning, it was a living faith.

Unfortunately, gradually you'll find this living faith became a religious system. It became an ism. Now historically speaking, Judaism had its beginning at the time of the Babylonian captivity. It was during that time that the scribes and the Pharisees somehow they reduced the living oracle of God into a religious system called Judaism.

When God first gave divine revelation to the Father, His revelations were to prepare the way for Christ. But when these divine revelations were reduced into a system, a religious system, you find that instead of preparing the people for Christ, they on the one hand began to substitute Christ.

And on the other hand began to oppose. That is the reason why when Christ appeared to them, they rejected Him. And brothers and sisters, we find we are in the same situation. Christianity in the beginning was a living faith.

But gradually through the centuries, you find that that living faith has been reduced into a religious system called Christianity. Instead of introducing us to Christ, it began to substitute Christ. And in doing that, it actually is opposing Christ.

Taking Christ away from us. If you will allow me to use just an illustration. For instance, baptism. We are going to have a baptism after decession. Now baptism is a living testimony. By baptism we testify that we have been identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

Going to the water, we testify by faith of the greatness of the work of our Lord Jesus. His finished work. That in His death, He has included us. In His burial, He has put us away. And in His resurrection, He lives in us.

It is a tremendous testimony. But you know through the centuries, Christianity practiced baptism. But gradually baptism becomes a ritual. A form. And there is a kind of teaching, baptismal regeneration.

Once you are baptized, you are regenerated. You are safe. You can go to heaven. So many people in Christianity, they rest their salvation on baptism. The water. Instead of Christ, His blood. It becomes a deception.

Takes away Christ from us. And dear brothers and sisters, we find that as we are approaching the coming of the Lord, all these as a system, as an ism, as something of external appearances, all these will be shaken off.

All these will not avail of anything. Only that which is real. Only that which is Christ Himself. That will bring us into glory. So brothers and sisters, we do feel that this letter to the Hebrews is very important to us today.

As this letter delivers the Hebrew believers in the early days from the bondage of Judaism into the liberty of the fullness of Christ. So we believe that this letter today is able to deliver us from Christianity as a religion.

And to bring us into the liberty of the fullness of Christ. Now we know this letter is a letter of exhortation. Because the writer at the end of the letter tells us that he writes this letter to exhort them.

It is just a brief letter. Only 13 chapters. To exhort the believers. And we know the word exhortation in the Greek at least carries with it two meanings. On the one hand, an exhortation is to encourage.

To encourage us to press on. On the other hand, exhortation is a warning. To warn us lest we fall back. So you find the whole purpose of this letter is to warn us not to fall back into that which we have been delivered.

But rather to encourage us to press on to perfection. And perfection simply means full grown. It means going into the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ. Now what is the message of this letter?

I believe the verse that we read at the beginning give us the message. Here you'll find the writer says Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling consider, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus.

We have a confession. I was told that there is a difference between confession and perfection. Pro and Con. Confession is to be made among friends. But confession is to be made among foes. Among enemies.

So to us, it is not a profession. It must be a confession. We have a confession to make. And what is our confession? Our confession actually is our faith. And what is our faith? And here it is said consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus.

Hebrews' Vision and Vocation

The letter to the Hebrews is divided into two parts. The first part is from chapter 1 through chapter 10 verse 18. That gives us the vision. And then from chapter 10 verse 19 to the end, chapter 13. It gives us the vocation.

On the one hand we need to see. We need to see what our confession is. What is the faith? What is the truth? Then having seen it it shall become our living. Our practice. Our way of life. Our testimony in the world.

As the vision is concerned. You find in the book of Hebrews the vision is twofold. On the one hand it is the vision of Jesus our apostle. That is chapter 1 through chapter 4. And the other vision is the vision of Jesus as our high priest from chapter 5 through chapter 10.

We need to ask the Lord to give us this vision of our Lord Jesus. Because this vision is so vital. It is life and death to us. Whether we can be delivered from our religious system such as Christianity.

Whether we are able to enter into the fullness of Christ. On to perfection. You find this vision is vital. We must have this vision. Or may I put it in another way. If we are lacking in this vision we do not know how to live as a Christian.

And we just cannot live as a Christian. First of all we need to see Christ as our apostle. You know the word apostle means one saintful. One who is sent forth with a mission. With a work to do. Probably we will connect this word apostle first of all with the twelve apostles.

The twelve disciples whom our Lord Jesus choose to be with Him trained and then to be sent forth with a work. But actually you find our Lord Jesus is the first apostle in the New Testament order. He is the one who is sent forth by God the Father with a special mission.

In the beginning of this letter in the first two chapters we find the credentials of the apostle of God. Jesus. You know when anyone is sent out as an envoy, an ambassador, an apostle must have certain credentials.

So here you will find in the first two chapters of the book of Hebrews the credentials of Christ. Our apostles are being presented. You know in the Old Testament times God has sent out many prophets. In a sense these prophets who were sent out by God were apostles.

Sent out ones. With a message. With a mission. In the old days God has spoken to our fathers in many ways and in many forms by the prophets. But in the last days He speaks to us in the person of His Son.

Now dear brothers and sisters you find even though in the past God has sent many into His people to reveal His mind to His people. To give a message to His people. But all those who were sent yes they were holy men of God moved by the power of the Spirit to speak.

But they were still just human beings. Imperfect. Limited. Full of weaknesses. God could only speak through them in parts and in bits and in fragments. But think of that in the last days. God sends forth His only begotten Son as His apostle.

So this apostle our apostle is none other but the Son of God. And there you find His sevenfold glory is being presented before us. He is the heir of all things. He is the full representation and manifestation of God.

He is the creator of the world. He is the holder of all things. He is the purifying fire of all things. Seated at the right hand of the Most High. So much better than the angels. This is the credential of our apostle Jesus as the Son of God.

And then in the second chapter you'll find His credentials as our apostle as the Son of Man. This Son of God has become the Son of... He is the man of God's mind. When God created man according to His image that is the man He has in mind.

He was made a little inferior than angels. Chased to death for everything. Crowned with glory and honor. By His death is destroyed devil who has the power of death. He is waiting to have all things being subjected under His feet.

And He is the one who is to bring many sons into glory. Now these are the credentials of Him as the Son of Man. Now just think of it brothers and sisters that this Son of God and Son of Man He is our... that God has sent into the world to us.

What an apostle! You know when one is sent what is he to do? What is the apostle of our confession is to do? First of all an apostle is to represent. And the one who is sent is to represent the one who sends him.

And there is no one that can represent God better than the Son. Because all the prophets that were sent before Him they could represent God only in a very limited way. But when the Son is sent into the world He represents God fully.

Christ as the Full Revelation of God

That is why you find in John chapter 1 verse 18 it is said No one has ever seen God. But the Son who is in the bosom of the Father He has declared Him. That is the reason why you find in the last day when our Lord Jesus was having that last supper with His own Philip said show us the Father and it suffices us.

And the Lord Jesus turned around and said said lay to Philip Philip you have been with me for so long and you are still asking that question? Do you not know that if you see me you see the Father? In other words you find our Lord Jesus while He was on earth as the Apostle of God.

He fully represents God to us. If you want to know what God is like look at Him. The Word became flesh tabernacle among man full of grace and truth. God is love. And we see this love of God in the grace of Jesus Christ.

God is light and we receive this light in Christ Jesus we see God fully. Or to put it in another way you cannot know God better than what you can know in Christ Jesus. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily.

He is the full representative representation of God the Father. If you want to know God you know Him. You must know Him. You cannot know God aside from Him because there is nothing more. It's all in Him.

He is the full representation of God. The exact image of the invisible God. How we do thank God that He is so gracious and merciful to us that He who is invisible is now made visible through Jesus His Apostle.

He who is unknowable is now being made known to us in the person of our Lord Jesus. Knowing Jesus is knowing God. As an Apostle number two, He is to speak for the one who sent Him. And you remember our Lord Jesus said I cannot say anything by myself.

I say it because I've heard my father said it. In other words you'll find that whenever our Lord opens His mouth He is not saying His own word. Whenever our Lord Jesus opens His mouth He is saying the word of God.

He speaks for God. In the old days the prophets spoke for God but their speaking for God were in parts. In fragments but when the Son speaks for God it is the full revelation of God the final word. Complete word.

There's nothing more to say. He has spoken it all. And then of course an Apostle thirdly He is to do a job. Accomplish a mission. And what is the mission that our Lord Jesus is sent for? He comes to do the will of the Father.

He said sacrifice burn offerings and oblations God you do not want these things but you have prepared me a body. Lord I come to do Thy will. And Thy law is the delight of my heart. You find the whole life of our Lord Jesus on earth is not living to do His own things.

The whole life of our Lord Jesus on earth is to do the will of the Father is to finish the work that the Father has committed to Him. And what is the work? It is the work of redemption. He came to die on the cross.

He said it is finished. The work is done. Mission accomplished. Thank God. And then fourthly as an Apostle He is the one who will open a new and living way for us that will lead us behind the veil to the very presence of God.

He is to be our forerunner and we know He has already gone behind the veil in the very presence of the Father. But He is there not just for Himself. He is to lead. As an Apostle He opens the way. He goes before us and He leads us into the very presence.

Jesus as the Apostle Who Leads Us Into Rest

Now dear brothers and sisters these are the works of an Apostle. Because you find in the book of Hebrews He is typified by two men. By Moses and Joshua. Moses and Joshua were sent by God to the children of Israel.

They were the leaders among them. Moses was used by God to lead a people out of Egypt. Joshua was used by God to lead a people into Canaan. But how much better is our Lord Jesus than Moses and Joshua.

Because Moses is but a servant faithful in God's house. But Christ is the Son of Man who builds the house and who rules over the house. Joshua led the people into Canaan but He did not give them everlasting rest.

But our Lord Jesus gave us a Sabbath rest that we may rest from our works as God has rested from His work. Now knowing Christ as our Apostle is vital to our confession. In other words this is our confession.

If you do not know Christ as our Apostle then you do not know Christ at all. It should be our attitude. Christ who is our Apostle. Number one we need to hear Him. The writer to the Hebrews said for this reason we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have.

He is sent by God to speak to us. Let us hear Him. Let us not harden our hearts like the children of Israel they hardened their hearts. They would not listen. Even though they came out of Egypt they failed to enter into the promised land.

Now brothers and sisters we need to hear Him. The great salvation first spoken to us by Him and then by the Apophis and Apostles. We need to hear. Oh that the Lord would give us a tender heart, a caring heart.

That we may hear what He says. Not just hear what we like to hear. Not just to hear a little bit of what He said. But hear all that He has said. Let us listen. And to hear Him actually is life. And secondly we not only need to hear Him but to believe Him.

You know the children of Israel they heard but they did not mix faith with what they heard. In other words they hear it with their outward ear but their heart being hardened they will not believe it. God said go over and possess the land.

Oh they say no. That land is a terrible land. It devours the inhabitants. They do not believe. And because they did not believe their carcasses fell in the wilderness. Now brothers and sisters when we hear what our Apostle says let us believe it.

And this applies not only to our initial salvation. That is to say when we hear that He is our Savior. That He has borne our sins on Calvary's cross. And when you hear it you believe it. Thank God for that and you are saved.

But this is to hear all that He has to say to you. He is saying to you that there is a rest prepared for you. There is a Canaan land for you. There is a land flowing with milk and honey. He is saying to you there is the unsearchable riches of Christ.

He is saying to you there is a kingdom prepared for you. An inheritance for you to inherit. Go in. Hear Him. He said to us. And thirdly to follow Him. We need to follow. You know the church of Israel they refused to follow.

They refused to follow Moses many times. They wanted to go back. Choose their own leaders. And they refused to follow Joshua and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb said let us go in. They said no. We cannot go in.

Dear brothers and sisters. Let us always remember our Apostle Jesus. He is the one whom we are to follow. No matter how difficult it may appear to be. No matter how strong our enemies are. If He say come and follow me.

Let us follow. The way of the cross. Let us follow. Because we know the way of the cross leads. So dear brothers and sisters let us remember that our Lord Jesus is our Apostle. Salvation is in Him. Everything for us.

All that is left for us is to hear Him. Believe Him. Now in doing that you will find you will not be bound by a religious system. You will be set free. And you will find yourself in pressing on. We need to see Christ.

Christ as High Priest According to the Order of Melchizedek

But then you will find the book of Hebrews spend more time on this matter of Christ as our High Priest. Now I can understand why because I have the same problem. You know, it seems to be easier to know Christ as our Apostle.

But it seems to know Christ as our High Priest seems to be a little bit vague. And because of this the writer of Hebrews spend more time on that. And as a matter of fact you will find to know Christ as our Apostle is the foundation.

But to know Christ as our High Priest is the building up. Apostle is one sent by God to us. Is one chosen from man towards God. Represents the one who sends Him. In other words, Christ as an Apostle, He represents God.

You know, He represents us for God in Heaven. As an Apostle, He brings God to us. High Priest, He brings us to God. Ministry must go hand in hand. In other words, you cannot have the one without the other.

We thank God that our Lord Jesus is our Apostle. And I do believe, brothers and sisters, we need, we know a little bit more about this. We know the Lord Jesus as our High Priest. Lord Jesus accomplished the work of redemption of Calvary's cross.

He was buried for 3 days. And then He was raised from the dead. He appeared to the disciples for 40 days, and then He ascended. He was taken up, ascended up, seated at the right hand of God the Father.

When our Lord Jesus ascended up to Heaven, something happened. You know, He was anointed by God. On the day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter, end of 11, they testified that this Jesus that was crucified, God has exalted Him on high, and has anointed Him as the Lord of Christ.

It is because of this, what you have seen and heard being poured out, the Holy Spirit came down. Psalm 110, you find that after the Lord was ascended up on high, He was anointed by God as the High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek.

And the picture is found in another psalm, like the oil poured upon Aaron's head, and it flows down to his ear, and goes all through his body, even to the skirt of his God. You know, in the old days, when they anointed the High Priest, He did not just sprinkle a few drops of oil.

We are told that when they anointed the High Priest, they just poured an abundance of oil upon His head, so He just flowed down His face, and all over His body. And of course, we know the oil represents the Holy Spirit.

In other words, here you'll find when our Lord Jesus was ascending, received from the Father, the Holy Spirit, and He poured the Holy Spirit down upon this earth. And at that moment, He was anointed as our High Priest.

According to the order of Melchizedek. Now, brothers and sisters, on the one hand, the work of our Lord Jesus as an Apostle has finished. He says it is finished. Mission accomplished. Because of this, we know He is now seated at the right hand of God.

Now, you don't go down, and you don't sit down until the job is done. And because His work as an Apostle is finished, therefore He sits down. It is finished. But don't think that our Lord Jesus just sits there and goes in, doing nothing.

You'll know. You'll find that one phase of His ministry is finished, but another phase of His ministry begins. As He ascended to Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, He was anointed as High Priest of our Confession.

In other words, there He begins His ministry as our High Priest. Our Lord Jesus is very busily engaged in Heaven. He ever lived making intercession for us. Those who approach God through Him, that He may save us to the uttermost.

Do you not know, dear brothers and sisters, that if it is not because our Lord Jesus is our High Priest today, we will not be able to be blessed with any blessing in the Heavenlies in Christ. We will not be able to be a Christian!

Not to say we will not be able to live a Christian life. Unable to! Impossible! It is all because our Lord Jesus today is our High Priest. He is credentialed as our High Priest. We find that He is our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Now, Melchizedek is mentioned in the Bible only three times. As far as history goes, He is only mentioned once. In two verses. Two, three verses. In Genesis chapter 14, after Abraham overcame the four kings, delivered his nephew Lot, Abraham returned to the King's Valley.

And there you'll find Melchizedek, which means King of Righteousness. He is the King of Salem. King of Peace. He encouraged to lead Abraham with bread and wine. And He blessed Abraham in the name of the Most High, because He is the High Priest of the Most High.

And Abraham gave him one tenth of all that he had. Now, that's all you'll find. So far history goes. Now, isn't it wonderful that in the land of Canaan, occupied by the seven wicked tribes. Now, these seven wicked tribes actually represent the evil forces of darkness.

And yet you'll find in this place, there was a place called Salem that is Jerusalem. And the King of Jerusalem is the King of Righteousness amid all this wickedness. And amid all these idolatries you'll find there is a King there who is the High Priest of the Most High God.

Isn't that wonderful? God still has His testimony. Everywhere. Even in that place. And He came to bless Abraham. And it is without doubt that the superior blesses the inferior. In other words, He is greater than Abraham.

Now, who is this man? And the second mention of him is in Psalm 110. A thousand years have passed. And there you'll find a sonnet through inspiration saying that one day the Messiah He will be anointed not only as King.

God said to my Lord, said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make my enemies your hostile. And then He said, you are being anointed as the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. And then another thousand years passed.

In the book of Hebrews, you find who is this Melchizedek? He said, this Melchizedek has no beginning no end, no genealogy like the Son of God. Now, it doesn't mean that this Melchizedek you know, Melchizedek is a real person.

I don't think he is a fictitious person. He is a real person who lived in that time of Abraham. A real person. Now, that person of course has a beginning and an end. But you know, the Holy Spirit withholds His beginning and His end.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit wants to use Him as a type of Christ. So, not mentioning His beginning and end, He is as if without beginning and with end. So, He can represent Christ, the High Priest. Jesus is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

And what is the order of Melchizedek? In what way is this order different from the Levitical order of priesthood? Well, there is great difference. Because the Levitical priesthood chooses man as priest, but the Melchizedek order has the Son as the High Priest.

The Levitical order chooses weak man as priest. But the Melchizedek order chooses the Immortal God. The Levitical order you find because they die. Therefore, the priesthood changes often. But in the Melchizedek order you find it never changes.

Because He lives forever. ...into the invisible Levitical order because they are with themselves. They can sympathize with the weak. In this Melchizedek order you find that once He came into this world to be a man, to be tempted in all things except sin, without sin.

So He can sympathize with us, but not only sympathize, because He is instituted, constituted according to the power of indissoluble right, therefore He can save us to the uttermost. Not only to sympathize, but to save.

Dear brothers and sisters, do we know our Lord Jesus as our High Priest? You know consciously or unconsciously, with your knowing or without your knowing, you are where you are today. It is because of His High Priestliness.

How much better if you know? How much more He is able to save you if you know? That is why we need to know Him as our High Priest. Dear brothers and sisters, I believe you know Him as your Apostle to a certain degree.

Yes, we need to know Him more as our Apostle, but you know Him. But unfortunately you find the reason why Christians are so weak today. It is because they do not know Him as our High Priest. ...priest to do?

The High Priest's Sacrifice and Eternal Forgiveness

Of course. First of all, you find the High Priest is to offer sacrifice. Once a year, the High Priest will use the blood of goats and bulls, and He will enter behind the veil before the mercy seat of God, sprinkle the blood there to make atonement for the sins of the nation.

Our Lord Jesus as our High Priest. If the blood of goats and bulls and can purify the defiled, how much better, how much more than our Lord Jesus by the Eternal Spirit, offer His bodies once and forever.

He has perfectly sanctified once and for all as the sacrifice. Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus as it were, now don't think of it physically because it is not, but it is as it were, our Lord Jesus in ascending up to Heaven, He brought Himself, His blood before the Father and laid it.

And that blood speaks for able blood for vengeance. For the blood of our Lord Jesus, our Lord Jesus as our High Priest, He has presented that sacrifice, these sacrifices. So redemption is an eternal one, eternally available.

Brothers and sisters, we know our sin for forgiveness because He is our High Priest. He has presented His blood. And this is once and for all. In other words, brothers and sisters, before we were saved, we came, we repented.

We believed in the blood of our Lord Jesus. We accepted Him as our Savior. And because of this, the blood spoke for us, speaks for us, and the Father forgave us. It's all done. But it is not true that in our daily life, through our weakness, carelessness, we still fall, we still sin.

Now, if we do, what will happen? You know, in the old days, you know one reason why. In Christianity, you have baptism by sprinkling. If you read church history, you'll find that once upon a time, that is in the early days, all baptism were by immersion.

But later on, a kind, strange kind of theory, I do not call it theology, but it's theory, developed, saying that all your sins will wash away at your baptism. But the sin that you commit at the baptism will be very difficult.

So people postponed their baptism as long as they could. And in their deathbed, they want to be baptized. Now, if you immerse them, you cannot do that. So you sprinkle them. Brothers and sisters, they do not see the efficacy, the eternal efficacy of the sacrifice.

The blood of our Lord Jesus once and for all is perpetuated in perfection. They do not see that. 1 John chapter 1, verse 9, if we confess our sins, that is to believe. God is faithful and righteous. To forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.

If we confess our sins, God is righteous. Now, if God is righteous, and we confess our sins, that's very good. He does not need to torture us to confession. Then you are condemned. But strangely, you say, God is righteous.

If you confess your sins, God is righteous. He has once, His beloved born as the sin of oppression on the cross. Prize is paid. The penalty is executed. Therefore, He is righteous. He cannot execute. It will make Him unrighteous.

He is faithful. He was faithful. Because that blood has sealed a new covenant between God and us. And He has to be faithful to His covenant. Therefore, if we confess our sins, God is righteous and faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all our ministry of our evil.

That's why I say, it is not because of ministry of our high priest. How can you live a Christian life? You will be under guilt all your life. You will be under accusation throughout your life. You cannot live.

Christ's Intercession and the Believer's Life

But then, God, there He is, our high priest. And then, secondly, as a high priest, you know, the work of high priest is to interrupt. Interrupt. The high priest went into the holiest place. Not only to offer the sacrifice, but also to pray for the nation.

To intercede. So when He came out from the holiest of all, He could bless the people. Now, brothers and sisters, what is our Lord Jesus doing today? Sit at the right hand of the Father. Intercede. He prayed.