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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/john-stubbs/hebrews-9/
Now, it's hard to believe that this is the last ministry. As such, we had the series from Monday to Friday, concluding this last Friday, and now we have this little time around the Word of God for this last ministry meeting.
We trust it will count for God and be a help to us. I'd like you please to turn to the letter to the Hebrews. The epistle to the Hebrews, please. And we'll commence to read at verse 13 of chapter 9. Chapter 9, verse 13.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? I think it would be good to read this verse again.
It's a tremendous verse. Verse 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Now, further down we will read at verse 24, please. Verse number 24. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world, or the age, hath he appeared to put away sin, or the sacrifice of himself.
And as it is appointed unto men who want to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Now we do trust indeed the Lord will bless His good word. I suggest to you in the ministry this afternoon as we approach the subject, that Hebrews 9 and verse 14 is a very key verse in this epistle. It sets forth the superiority of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, His once-for-all sacrifice, over the sacrifices of the old economy.
Indeed I go further to suggest that verse 14 is perhaps the highest aspect presented in the New Testament Scriptures concerning the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is rather remarkable to notice that while this is so, I believe, when you come down to verses 16 and 17 you have what I will carefully call the lowest aspect, the lowest aspect of the death of Christ.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Then verse 17 reads,. For a testimony is a force after men are dead, otherwise it is of no strength at all while a testator liveth.
All I really want to say about those two verses is, the fact of death must be first established before an inheritance, for example, or anything can be left to the person. So that we have in verse 16 and 17 the fact, the fact of the death of Christ.
That's clear in the Word of God, nothing more real than the sacrifice and the actual death of the Lord Jesus. So we have the fact of His death and that's the lowest aspect presented as such. But in the very same chapter we have, as I've already mentioned in verse 14, the highest, I believe, possible aspect of the death of Christ presented in the New Testament.
Now what I want to do very simply is to contrast the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus in verse 14 with the sacrifices of the old economy, very especially the sacrifices of the blood and what was offered on the critical holy day of atonement.
There's no doubt, carefully read in Hebrews 9, that the background is the day of atonement, that the writer, whether he be Paul or anyone else, another apostle, has definitely in mind the ritual and the symbolism and what took place on the day of atonement as we look at on Friday.
Verse 14, I've said, is a tremendous verse. It's worth repeating again. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
What a contrast. Obviously, it ought to be clear that verse 13 is referring to the animals that were used on the day of atonement. Whether we think of the blood of the bullock for Aaron and his house, whether we think of the first goat and then also the ashes of the red heifer, way back in Numbers chapter 19, over and above, different to this.
How much more, I want you to think of that expression, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God. How should we view this tremendous verse?
The highest possible aspect presented in the New Testament as far as the death of Christ is concerned. Well, first of all, it's preeminent. It was preeminent in its abiding value. How much more. That's a tremendous expression.
Thinking of the greatness and the wonderful achievement of the work, the finished work of Christ at Calvary. Over against all the offerings of the old economy and very especially and specifically all the ritualistic details of what happened on the day of atonement, how much more shall the blood of Christ.
The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the first point we see in this verse, Hebrews 9 verse 14, was preeminent in its abiding value. I think I said on Friday, at least six times, possibly more, in this epistle we read of the blood of Christ.
That's tremendous. It's a key expression. Without moving out of the context of Hebrews 9, we go back to verse 12 to illustrate. Neither by the blood of goats and cows, but by his own blood, he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
His own blood. This certainly does not mean that our Lord Jesus took his literal blood into heaven. That would be against scripture. But he went into heaven, having accomplished the work of atonement, having finished the work of salvation, and he went into heaven by virtue in the merits of his own blood.
We cannot exaggerate in the New Testament the truth of what it means of the blood of Christ. How much more shall the blood of Christ. Thank God this afternoon for the blood of Christ. I have been told, it's not been my experience, and in all likelihood I wouldn't be in such an assembly.
But there are, and have been, and probably still are, some so-called assemblies that have on the rostrum or the platform, don't mention the blood here. That's horrible. That's unbelievable. That true believers can put such a notice or a warning, whatever way you view it, on the rostrum.
Don't mention the blood here. I've already mentioned that in Hebrews it's a significant phrase. It's a key phrase in this epistle used more than any other. Namely, the blood of Christ. We do thank God for the abiding value and efficacy of the blood of Christ.
The phrase, of course, stands for his death, his sacrifice, the virtue, the merits of his death. It is interesting, thinking of the Day of Atonement, which we looked at in some little detail on Friday night, that we don't read the word Atonement in the New Testament.
Why is that, you say? Well, I do think we have the New Testament word for it and concept of it, namely, reconciliation. Does Paul in Romans 5 not say, by whom, as a result of whose death, we have received, the authorised version says, the atonement.
I love the authorised version. And used the authorised version. And preached on the authorised version. But the word there is a little bit defective. You cannot, as such, strictly speaking, receive the atonement.
But you can receive the fruits of the atonement work of Christ at Calvary. Namely, reconciliation. We have received, through our Lord Jesus, through the merits of his death, this is the doctrine of Romans 5.
The reconciliation. What does reconciliation simply mean? It means God has dealt with the enmity between us, the sinner, and He, the Eternal Holy God. It is not that God needs reconciled. That's false.
But the sinner needs to be reconciled to God. The removal of enmity. I love the expression of Romans 5, don't you? Reconciled to God, through the death of His Son. Here is one who was never at enmity with God.
And pleased God. And only this one, His Son, could accomplish the great work of reconciliation. We have, through Him, received the reconciliation. So while we don't have the actual word in the New Testament, we certainly have the truth of it.
And we need to understand that. We thank God for the preeminent aspect of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. His death was preeminent in its abiding value. How much more? Secondly, it's permanent in its application.
Read on, this great verse. How much shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit. We want to see this afternoon in our meditation on Hebrews 9 verse 14. That not only was the death of our Lord Jesus Christ preeminent in its abiding value and efficacy.
But it is permanent in its application. I think there's a play upon words here, don't you? Through the Eternal Spirit. Why does the writer use this expression? Oh yes, I think we have a reference to the person and work of the Holy Spirit here.
The Spirit of God was involved in the incarnation and birth of Christ. The Spirit of God was involved in the ministry and miracles and walk of Christ. The Spirit of God was involved in the death of Christ, as here.
As well as the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quickened, says Peter, made alive by the Spirit. So whether we look at His incarnation, His lovely sinless life. Or His sin atoning death. Or His glorious resurrection from the dead.
We see the Spirit of God intimately collected and associated with these tremendous fundamental crisis points and events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. But why does he describe the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus through the Eternal Spirit?
Have I said there's a play upon words? I think so. Eternal Spirit. In contrast to the old economy or the Day of Atonement we saw more than once, didn't we? It was temporary in its character. It did not achieve or accomplish permanent results.
It needed to be re-enacted and gone through year by year. He went in with blood. Blood played a very important part in the ritual of that day. The importance of the blood cannot be overestimated, beloved.
Through the Eternal Spirit. That is the work of Christ. His sacrifice on the cross was eternal. Yes, in its efficacy, in its outreach, in its embrace, in its power, in its application. The blood of Christ will never lose its power.
So I think deliberately the writer in Hebrews 9 verse 14 describes the nature and character of the death of Christ this way. Through the Eternal Spirit. Eternal in contrast to the temporary of the old economy.
Spirit in contrast to the sanctifying of the flesh, the physical thing. There's an eternal aspect of the death of Christ and there's a spiritual internal aspect of the death of Christ. Do you see that?
In the old economy, people of Israel represented by the high priest with all the rituals they had and even on the Day of Atonement. It did not have an eternal effect upon them. It did not accomplish a spiritual inward internal work.
But the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus has. It has affected us eternally and it has affected us internally. So think of these words. How much more shall the blood of Christ flow through the Eternal Spirit?
His sacrifice was preeminent in its applied value. Permanent in its application. Thirdly, personal. Personal in its achievement and accomplishment. How much more shall the blood of Christ flow through the Eternal Spirit?
Offered Himself without spot unto God. Offered Himself. Preeminent? How much more? Yes. Yes, but personal. Here's one, unlike the high priest Aaron and those associated with him, who did not use means of propitiation outside of himself.
Aaron had to take the bullock and the first goat and slay them and take their blood into the holiest of all on the Day of Atonement. So he used offerings external to himself. Isn't it nice to come to the New Testament and read in 1 John 2.
He, even He is the emphasis. He, even He is the propitiation for our sins. On the cross, the Lord Jesus we might say was the priest. He was the altar and He was the offering altogether. How lovely. No, He didn't use an animal.
I say again, He didn't use means of propitiation outside of Himself. His sacrifice was personal. The verse goes on to say, through the Eternal Spirit, He offered. He offered Himself. Personal sacrifice.
That only He could accomplish and achieve. What the Lord did for us on the cross was not by the assistance of any angel. No angel could my place have taken. Highest of the high was He. Scorned by man, by God forsaken.
He was one of the Godhead. How wonderful. How precious. How it should thrill our souls this afternoon, meditating on Hebrews 9 verse 14. He did it alone. He did it for us. He accomplished this personally.
Oh, there's a personal aspect to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. It's so very, very fundamental and vital and precious. There's enough in this one thought, isn't there? Offered Himself to thrill us. To motivate us.
To love Christ more. To be more faithful to Him. Words, I think I've mentioned this elsewhere in recent weeks, of a great sportsman of England in the latter part of the 1800s and early 1900s, up to 1930.
I'm thinking of a man called C .T. Studd, who got converted. His brother got converted. His father, who owned a string of race horses, got converted. In the time I refer to, it was the time of Moody and Sandy's great missions and gospel activity.
Thousands were saved. God was working at that time. He got saved too, and gave up a fortune of 30 ,000 pounds. This is what he said. If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
What words. What a change in that man's life. What an effect the sovereigns of Christ and the cross that He personally achieved for us. Salvation. What an effect it had upon him. What a change. Went to China.
Preached the gospel. That wasn't enough. The last few years of his life, he burned himself out for God in Africa. What about me? What about you? Let's feel the weight of the challenge this afternoon. Let's understand the meaning and all that was involved in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
What it meant in particular for him. Through the eternal spirit he offered himself. Just think of that word, himself. It's lovely. What have we learned in this verse? Hebrews 9 verse 14. That it's the highest view that we have in the New Testament concerning the death of Christ.
Yes. That it's pre-eminent in its abiding value. That it's permanent in its application to us. And thank God how sweetly and blessedly it was personal in its accomplishment. And fourthly, it was perfect, perfect in its acceptance.
How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself, ah, without spot to God. How lovely this is. His was a spotless sacrifice. That's why such an offering, such a sacrifice was accepted by God.
And God was glorified in it. And eternal salvation has been wrought by it. Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free. And God the just is satisfied to look on him. And God, pardon me.
All based on this truth. Life and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, his Son. How God has been glorified. How God has been enabled to come out in the fullness of his grace. And to save guilty, hell deserving sinners.
What a death it must have been. What a sacrifice it was. Not only to put an end to Jewish sacrifices. No need now of Jewish altars. And ritual. And external religion. The only religion that God gave to the world was the Jewish religion.
And that he took away and finished with. The sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Was indeed, thank God, perfect. Without, lovely words. Each expression, each phrase in this outstanding verse of Hebrews.
This key verse. Is pregnant and full of important doctrinal teaching. Concerning the sacrifice of Calvary of our Lord Jesus. Last by no means least. This verse, Hebrews 9 verse 14 tells us. That the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus was not only preeminent.
Permanent, personal. Perfect. It was practical. Practical. And this is an aspect, I have to admit. And be honest. That we don't give attention to. It is one thing to be right. And this is very important.
As to the doctrinal implications and meaning of the death of Christ. But. What about its practical application? How does it affect my life? The verse doesn't finish at the end of. Without spot to God.
It continues. The latter part of the verse is most important. Your conscience from dead works. To serve the living God. The Jewish religion finishes. Says somebody. What does this expression? What does this phrase mean?
Dead works. What a description. If you said to me. Well it's works done by dead persons. I'd agree with you. But it's deeper than that. It means more than that. It's the rightest. Catch this. Don't miss it.
It's the rightest way of summing up. The death of Christ. More than that. I said to you this afternoon. It's the rightest way. The Hebrew rightest way. That he sums up Judaism. Judaism. Now to God. Was dead works.
A body without a soul. Just a corpse if you like. It was religiously dead. It had become apostate. So as the writer in Hebrews 9 verse 14. Looks at the death of Christ. He sees. It's all dead works. Around us beloved.
In the world of Christendom. We are surrounded by dead. Yes people who are trying to get to heaven. In their own way. Religiously and so on. And self righteousness. And work in a way to achieve this. Get into heaven.
No. Religiously. And very much spiritually. The Jews. Had become apostate. And they were occupied now. As God viewed it. With nothing more than. Dead works. It is true. We can say it's works done by dead persons.
But it is more than that. I trust you'll agree with me. That Hebrews 9 verse 14. Is a wonderful verse. But am I going to leave it. Having just pointed out the various aspects of the superiority. Of the death and sacrifice of Christ.
In Hebrews 9 verse 14. Am I going to leave it without the practical. There was a practical end in view of the sacrifice of Christ. That we should no more live unto ourselves. But unto him who died for us.
Yes that we have a clear conscience. But that we might serve God. In worship. As God desires. Serve the living. The living God. Wherever you get in the New Testament. Some of you will know this already.
This title. This description. The living God. Sometimes it's a contrast to idolatry. People bound down to idols of stone and gold. Images. It's the church. Says Paul in 1 Timothy 3 verse 15. Of the living God.
And Ephesus there was the deity Diana. To whom they bowed and paid devotion to. But the church by contrast. The local assembly is the assembly of the living God. Remember that. The assembly has to do with God.
It's his. It belongs to him. But I like the title living God here. Because it's a contrast to dead Judaism. Why did Christ die? In the gospel context. We would be quick to answer that. Wouldn't we? The necessity of the death of Christ.
But I'm looking at it spiritually. I'm looking at it in supplication to the life of a believer. Christ died that we may serve the living God. Are we doing that? I would work like any slave. Out of love for God's dear son.
I would. Would you? We have been delivered from bondage. The bondage of sin and stated. I would not work my soul to save. That work my Lord has done. But I would work like any slave. Out of love to God's dear son.
Is that our attitude? Is that our motive? The sacrifice for us of the Lord Jesus. And the price he paid should motivate us. And with tremendous sanctifying effect. And influence upon our lives. Mine and yours.
Really, let me ask the question. What does the death of my Saviour mean to me? Has it just delivered me from going down to hell? And given me a new standing? I'm justified, I'm reconciled. Or is there more than that?
I should be the eternal devoted to the Lord Jesus. Taking a delight no matter what sacrifice it may mean for me. To serve the living God. Isn't that a challenging thought? How did it find us this afternoon?
No doubt we could say a little more on Hebrews 9 verse 14. I've never done this in my life before. And I'm not making the assembly here an experimental workshop for my sermons. No, that is not ministry at all.
But I've noticed the verse. Hebrews 9 verse 14. I've enjoyed the verse. I've quoted it many times. And I've come again, I say, to regard it as a key outstanding verse in the whole of the epistle to the Hebrews.
Touching this high, glorious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Do you know in this very context, the writer refers to the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice, better sacrifices than these. I thought that was a bit of an error, a bit of a mistake.
A copy error. It didn't sound correct grammar to describe the sacrifice of Christ as better sacrifices. How can that be, I said to myself. Ah, but I soon tumbled to it. The writer is quite correct in describing the sacrifice, the once for all, never to be repeated sacrifice of Christ as better sacrifices.
Because every sacrifice in the old economy, every offering, even the burnt offering, the peace offering, the meal offering, the trespass offering, the sin offering, whatever offering was embraced. And the once for all supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus points in that expression, better sacrifices, plural, to the completeness, the fullness, the glory, the outstanding achievement of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus.
What I've done in verses 13 and 14, verse 14 particularly, is to show you the contrast with the day of atonement, with the old economy. The superiority of our Lord Jesus. But to conclude my little word of ministry this afternoon, I did read from verse 24 to the end because I want to draw parallels now.
I want in a sense to show you at least three comparisons with the high priestly ministry of Aaron on the day of atonement. The high priest was in three positions on that day. He was in the holiest of all, and before he did his great work of atonement, he was at the altar, the brazen altar in the court, outside the tabernacle proper.
Then when success was enjoyed for one more year on the day of atonement, he came forth, he came out to bless the people. Those are the three main principle positions, functions of the high priest Aaron.
Can you see in this passage from verse 24 of Hebrews 9 to the end, these three positions paralleled in our Lord Jesus Christ? Can you see in verse 26 the high priest at the altar on the day of atonement?
Do not forget we said at the beginning the background of Hebrews 9 is definitely the day of atonement. Read the verse again with me, verse 26. For then he must often have suffered since the foundation of the world.
But now once in the end of the world or the end of the age, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Here we have the answer. There is a contrast of course, the parallel. To Aaron at the altar on the great day of atonement, touching the altar, slaying the bullock and the goat, taking the blood in two, twice, the holiest of all.
And I can just picture the high priest at the altar as I read these words of verse 26. At the end of the age. Isn't it wonderful to think of the death of Christ in this way? It's the apex of the ages, the apex of the ages.
To it, to that sacrifice, all Jewish sacrifices look forward. Since that historic event of Calvary and the once for all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, all succeeding ages look back to it. So the death of Christ, we are told in verse 26, is central to the purposes of God.
What a thought. Notice again though. Hath he appeared? What a person to appear, greater than Aaron. To put away sin, what a purpose to appear for. That's why he came. But what a price by the sacrifice of himself.
I can see the Lord's atoning sacrifice of Calvary in verse 26. I can see the high priest on the day of atonement, Leviticus 16, at the altar. Secondly, the high priest and the holiest of all. Look at verse 24.
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself. See the correspondence, the parallel? Now to appear in the presence of God for us.
If in verse 26 we have Christ at the altar, and we bear in mind the illustration of Aaron at the altar. Here we have Aaron, the high priest of Israel, the first high priest of Israel, in the holiest of all.
Accomplishing his great work. And thirdly, for this Lord I want to get to, you have the high priest coming out to bless the people on the day of atonement. That is when it was all completed. When everything was done as God desired and demanded it.
All the ritual had been carried out. Aaron alone emerges, because he went in alone. No one accompanied him. There was a time previously, we read in Leviticus 9 this morning, that both Moses and Aaron went into the holiest of all.
But when that atonement was made for one more year, Aaron appeared, emerged, came into view. And how glad they would be to see him, the people. How relieved, indeed in many ways they would be, to know that for one more year their iniquities had been taken away.
God had pardoned them and cleansed them, nationally. So just as we have Aaron coming out of the holiest on the day of atonement to bless the people. Do we not have in verse 28 an answer to that? Oh, we've seen Christ at the altar, the high priest in the holiest of all, and the Lord appearing in heaven for us.
But now in verse 28, this last verse of the chapter, we have the parallel to Aaron coming out on the day of atonement to bless. Read the verse. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. This is the thing I'm thinking about.
This is the point of the verse, second half. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. His first coming, Calvary is dead to the question of sin. When he comes back to the earth, he's not going to deal with sin in regard to forgiveness or removing guilt.
He'll destroy the enemies. Yes, he'll bless the nation of Israel on the ground of the death of Christ. But he'll need not to come to atone for sin again. He's done that. He's been here. Thank God for the incarnation, the life, the death, the resurrection, and ascension to heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But wait a minute. Unto them that look for him shall he appear. Ah. Does this mean, as someone taught, that you've got to be pretty holy? You've got to be very, very faithful. You really have to be looking for him because if you're not really looking for him and as holy as you should be, you'll be left behind at the rapture.
You won't be taken. That is what is called in theological circles today a partial rapture. It's more like a partial rupture to me than a rapture. Oh, yes. It really is. Can I say this? That our participation as Christians in the rapture doesn't rest upon attainment.
What I have done. It rests upon atonement. The atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ. I take it, dear brethren, well it says, unto them that look for him. It's the characteristic. It's the normal. It's what God expects of every child of God.
It's their characteristic what? They're looking for him. It's a person we're looking for. We are waiting for. I know that some may apply this to the second advent. It's okay. And some do not see the prior event or first phase or stage of the second coming of Christ.
I'm very happy in the context to apply it both ways. But I ask myself the question I ask you and cause to sink it in. Are we really looking for the Lord? Looking for the blessed hope and glory superior to the great God and our Saviour.
To use the language of Titus chapter 2. Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. When he does come at the rapture. Like the high priest when he emerged in the day of atonement to bless the people.
Our Lord is coming forth to bless us. When he comes to the earth he'll punish the enemies of Israel. His enemies. He'll put the two beasts into the abyss of the lake of fire where certain to complete the trinity of evil will go.
It's not by chance is it? Not in the word of God. There's no such thing. The right of delivery. Thinking of the day of atonement and the positions. The three different positions the high priest had on that day.
He sees a parallel. You're not a parallel in comparison. There's a contrast too. There's no getting away from that. But I do see the Lord Jesus at the altar. The Lord Jesus in the host of all in heaven.
And the Lord Jesus coming out to bless. Very soon he will. And bless us wonderfully and bless us completely. I trust these thoughts especially in Hebrews 9 verse 14 will have been a help to us encouragement to us and uplift to us.
Just to appreciate that little bit more the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. Look at it. Verse 14 of the chapter. As a key verse. As the highest aspect of the death of Christ presented in the New Testament.
And you'll get much from it. To refresh and encourage your soul. It is lovely this epistle isn't it? To see the greatness of Christ over prophets in chapter 1 over angels in chapter 2 over Moses in chapter 3 over Joshua in chapter 4 over Aaron in chapter 5 over Melchizedek in chapter 6 and over Melchizedek in particular in chapter 7 isn't it?
Chapter 6 is Old Testament principles. The Lord Jesus is greater than Old Testament principles. Greater than Melchizedek. Greater than the Old Covenant chapter 8. Greater than the tabernacle and its furniture on the atonement day chapter 9.
Greater than all the sacrifices of the old economy put together in chapter 10. Greater than all faiths worthies and greater than the whole system of duties and whatsoever put together. We are to go forth to Him without the camels.
Shall we pray?