SON OVER GOD’S HOUSE
I felt led to these scriptures through the references to Christ as over God’s house. It refers to Him as “Son over his house” and then as “a great priest over the house of God”. Our conduct in the house of God is a very important matter. We have been reminded that we are always in it, so to see Christ’s place in relation to it would help us. It is very stabilising to think that He is over it. No one else but He is over it, beloved brethren, and what comes out in chapter 3 is His faithfulness. It speaks of Jesus as “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus, who is faithful to him…”. We might say that God has seen to it that His Son is over His house, and Christ is faithful to God. He will maintain things in relation to God as suited to God. We can be assured of that! My exercise is that I should be in a right relation to Christ, to be subject to Him so as to discern His movements, for He is active in relation to God’s house. He is not there in a passive way; He is active in relation to it, beloved brethren, and He is faithful. The need for holiness is very great, so as to see the Lord in His movements, but it is a great assurance to know that He is over God’s house. Therefore I need to be kept in relation to Him, for He maintains things according to God. God’s house is an ordered place. It is a sphere of affection, and as Son over it, Christ would maintain things for God and maintain us in relation to God. The great need is to be with God. It is said of Christ that He “was with God”, John 1:1. He is God of course, but He is with God, He came out from God, and He maintains things for God. What a wonderful thing that is. We can rest in that, but we need to be exercised to be with Him. In a critical time in Israel’s history, Moses was with God and he acted rightly, while Aaron was with the people and he erred (Exod.32). So it is a great thing to be with God.
That leads me to the scripture in chapter 10, because it is encouraging in relation to entering the holy of holies so as to approach God. It is open to us! We can have boldness to enter “into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way”, so that we can approach. Then “having a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart”. I think that, as we take up the exercise to approach God, the Lord Jesus is there to strengthen us. He is there to help us; He is a “great priest”. In chapter 3, He is spoken of as a great High Priest, but there is nothing official about this thought of His being a “great priest”. He is that morally and He is able to strengthen us, beloved brethren, in approach to God so that we can be with God.
I just thought of these two references as to Christ. One is from God’s side; He is over the house of God from God’s side to maintain things for God, Son over His house. In the other scripture, He is on our side; He is over the house so that we can approach God. We can be encouraged to approach Him, to be strengthened by the “great priest”. The Lord Jesus is a “great priest”, beloved brethren! Our focus has been on Him tonight, and it is a good thing to have Him before us. May the Lord help us and strengthen us in it, in His name.
Word in meeting for ministry, Witney
10 February 2014
J. Wright
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