CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
Perfection here means the state of a full-grown man. There is much, and, in a certain sense, more, contrast than similarity in the allusion in Hebrews to the Old Testament types. We are now in a different position; those things which went before were only a shadow, instead of their giving us a distinct perception of our position. While they were figures, they did not disclose what we have at the present time. We have boldness to enter into the holiest; with them, the veil was there to separate them from it. In this passage it is important to see the contrast. Christ is the High Priest. “Every high priest taken from among men [though He was not taken from men, I need not say] ... can have compassion on the ignorant ... for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” Here is contrast, though the general image is taken up. They had infirmity, and had to offer for themselves as well as for the people. If we do not see this, we may make great blunders in drawing these analogies. Absolute analogy in them would draw us away from the truth. There are certain landmarks of truth that guard the soul, for example, the atonement. The priesthood of Christ is in heaven. It has to be exercised as a continual thing in the place where we worship. We worship in spirit in heaven, and there we want our priest. Those sacrifices were the memorial of sin; we have no more conscience of sins. The priest is there, once for all, in virtue of the sacrifice made once and for ever. While in point of fact we fail, our place is always Christ in heaven. When communion is interrupted, priesthood removes the hindrance.
[p. 357] Observe the dignity of the person called to this office: “Thou art my Son.” The glory of His Person is owned in order to His priesthood. “This day have I begotten thee,” verse 5. He was as really a man as any of us, without the sinful part of it. He was like neither Adam nor us exactly. Adam had no “knowledge of good and evil”; Christ had — God has. But now men have the knowledge of good and evil, and, with it, sin. Christ was born of a woman, but in a miraculous way. The spring was sinless, and yet He had the knowledge of good and evil.
We cannot fathom who He was. Our hearts should not go and scrutinise the Person of Christ, as though we could know it all. No human being can understand the union of God and Man in His Person — “No man knoweth the Son but the Father.” All that is revealed we may know; we may learn a great deal about Him. The Father we know: “No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son shall reveal him.” We know Him to be holy; we know Him to be love, etc. But when I attempt to fathom the union of God and man — no man can. We know Christ is God, and we know He is man — perfect man, apart from sin; and if He is not God, what is He to me? What difference between Him and another man? Christ came in flesh. Every feeling that I have (save sin) He had. The quotation here from Psalm 2, “This day have I begotten thee,” does not refer to His eternal Sonship, but to His being born into the world in humiliation. He is called to be high priest. He has this calling as a man, not as being taken from men. The glory of His Person comes first. Looked at in the flesh He was begotten of God; with us, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” But He in His very nature is associated with God, and associated with man. He is the “daysman that can lay his hand upon us both,” Job 9. I may fancy myself clean when away from God; but when I come before God, I know He will “plunge me in the ditch,” etc. “Let not his fear terrify me.” God takes away the fear through Christ. Christ was perfect holiness, and He was ready for everything. His lowliness was perfect; fear is taken away by Him; He is even as a man, the holy One — on that side He lays hold on God, and on the other He lays His hand on us; thus on both He is the daysman to lay His hand upon us both.
[p. 358] The priest in Israel had to take offerings to cleanse himself. Christ is fitted in Himself without that. Aaron alone was anointed without blood; his sons after the sacrifice.
As to office, there is in Christ perfect competency. He is the Son, and therefore fit for God. He is Man, and so fitted for me. I am not speaking of His sacrifice, but of His Person. “This day have I begotten thee”; there is His Person. Then comes the office, “called of God an high priest, after the order of Melchisedec,” without beginning of days, etc., not like man with descent from one to another, “but after the power of an endless life,” without genealogies. These great principles are thus laid down concerning His Person and office — the Son and a priest after the order of Melchisedec. Before He takes the office, there is another qualification necessary. Here would be a difficulty (not in the earthly priesthood, for it was connected with the earthly tabernacle, and earthly worship, but) now it is in a heavenly place, and the worship is in heaven. Then the priesthood must be in heaven. He could not have experience of infirmity there. What must He do? He goes through all first.
[p. 359] Priesthood supposes a people reconciled to God. There was the day of atonement, and daily priestly offices went on with the reconciliation for the year. The day of atonement laid the foundation for the priesthood for the year. Then on that day the high priest represented the whole people — laid his hand on the scapegoat in order to their reconciliation (this was not the continued office); which Christ did on the cross, as the victim and the representative. He gave His own blood. He suffered as well as represented the people, and then He went within the veil, in virtue of the reconciliation He has made. One of these goats was Jehovah’s lot (the other was the people’s), and the blood was put on the mercy-seat. There was no confession of sins in that. Christ’s blood being on the mercy-seat is the ground on which mercy is proclaimed to all the world, even to the vilest sinner in the world. But suppose a person comes and says, “I find sin is working in me: how can I come to God?” I say, Christ has borne your sins; He has represented you there, confessing your sins on His own head; and God has condemned sin in the flesh, in Christ. A person is often more troubled at the present working of sin in him than at all the sins past; but I say to that person, God has condemned the sin in Christ. God’s character has been glorified, majesty, righteousness, love — all vindicated on the cross. God’s truth is vindicated. He said, “In the day thou eatest thou shalt surely die,” and Christ dies instead. Then when I get my conscience exercised, it is not enough to see God has been glorified in the death of Christ; I feel my own sins before God. Then I see that He has confessed my sins; and now, as Priest on high, He maintains me in the power of the reconciliation made.
Before He made the sacrifice, He had gone the path the sheep trod. It was before He began to represent His people — “who in the days of his flesh” — a past thing, before He exercised His priesthood. “When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them” in the paths of temptation, sorrow, difficulty. Therefore it is said of Him, “the author and finisher of faith,” not our faith there. We go through our small portion of exercise of faith; He went through everything. Moses refused the treasures in Egypt; Christ refused the whole world. Abraham “sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country”; Christ was a stranger in the whole world. In all His path we see Him not screening Himself by His divine power, but bearing everything that a human heart could bear. There is not a trial but He felt it. If I speak of a convicted conscience, this is another thing. He did bear what caused that; but it was in our stead on the cross. In a still deeper way He took it all upon Himself. What entire dependence! “Prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death,” etc. Especially in Gethsemane did He realise the full power of what He came to meet. In His walk we are to follow Him, to “walk as he walked.” But in Gethsemane it is another thing — He was alone there.
There are three parts in Christ’s life. In the beginning He was tempted, first, to satisfy His own hunger, and then with all the vanities of this world, but He would not have them, He did not come for that. The next thing was more subtle; the answer He gave, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” — thou shalt not try the Lord. Tempting is not trusting. When the people tempted the Lord, they went up to the mountain to see if God would help them. Christ would not take these things from Satan’s hands. He bound the strong man, and he departs for a season; then Christ goes on spoiling his goods — healing the sick, raising the dead, etc. A power had come in grace, perfectly able to deliver this world from the power of Satan, to deliver us as to the consequences of sin — all the misery and wretchedness here.
But there was something deeper; man had hatred to God — they would not have Him. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” They entreated Him to depart out of their coasts in one place. For His love He received enmity. This world would have been a delivered place, if they would have had Him, but they would not; and man profits by the occasion of God’s humbling Himself so as to be within man’s reach, by seeking to get rid of Him! That brings out another point. Having taken up the people, He must take consequences. Satan says, if you do not give me my rights over them, you must suffer. Satan comes and uses all the power he has over man to deter Christ from going through. In the garden of Gethsemane, He calls it “the power of darkness,” and says, “my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death; tarry ye and watch,” etc., but they could not watch with Him, they went fast asleep. As Satan has power in death, He brings it over Christ. Does Christ go back? No; but being in an agony, He prayed the more earnestly; He does not defend Himself. He might have driven away Satan, but He would not have delivered us if He had. No other cup did He ever ask to be taken away; but He could not be under the wrath of God, and not feel it. He was heard because of His fear. He went down into the depth where Satan had full power over His soul. He was in an agony, in conflict, but there was perfect obedience and dependence, “Not my will, but thine be done”; only He was crying the more earnestly to God, and then let His soul go into the depth under Satan’s power. If He had not given Himself up, they would have gone away who came to take Him; they went backward and fell to the ground. Again He presents Himself to them, “I am Jesus of Nazareth. If ye seek me, let these go their way.” He puts Himself forward into the gap. He goes to the cross; and there, before He gives up His soul to His Father, He has drunk that cup; then His soul re-enters the presence of His Father. Having gone through Satan’s power in death (”this is your hour and the power of darkness”), He goes forward; God raises Him from the dead, and gives Him a place in glory. He is the glorified Man, as the second Man — perfect. Stephen saw Him as “the Son of man” on the right hand of God.
[p. 361] Now we might suppose that He had come to the end of His service, after humbling Himself and becoming obedient unto death as the servant. What more? See John 13. He is going to be just as much the servant as ever!
Three things we have seen connected with His priesthood, besides His Person. He has walked the same path we have to tread, only unfailingly, through it all, and even unto death. That is one thing. He understands the path. When there is sin, He dies. In His living, holiness is seen. The second thing is in making propitiation for the sins of the people — blood is presented. Thirdly, He is a perfect Man in the presence of God. I have thus the path trodden, sin atoned for, and a living Man in the presence of God — an Advocate, Jesus Christ, the righteous. The foundation is not altered, righteousness remains. He has made propitiation for our sins. He has gone through all the trials of the way, and is proclaimed or saluted (”declared”) of God an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. The trial is gone through, and the work is wrought out before He enters in, and He is in perfect righteousness in the presence of God. Aaron’s order was not Christ’s order at all. Christ’s is Melchisedec’s order; but the analogy is according to Aaron.
Verse 10. What was Melchisedec’s order? Blessing. He blessed Abraham from God, and God from Abraham. When the full time of blessing is come for heaven and earth, He will have it as Melchisedec had it. It will be praise and power. We have the taste of it now; 1 Peter 2: 9. When we are with Christ in glory, we shall shew forth His praises. While He is within the veil, not yet come out, He does not publicly take this title; outward blessing is not come. Why? Is He indifferent? slack concerning His promise? No; but if He put all this evil down by judgment, men must perish: but He is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. While Christ is within the veil, the operation of the Spirit is going on, gathering in poor sinners. He has the title now, but not display. It is, therefore, after the analogy of Aaron. We enter with Him in spirit, there to offer up spiritual sacrifices. The display of power is not come, but we are within the veil: therefore the apostle presses them to go on unto perfection, full stature growth. What is my measure of a perfect man? In one sense, Adam was a very imperfect man, and what he had in innocence, he soon lost at any rate (imperfect, therefore, in the sense of being able to lose it); and certainly man is not perfect now in the Adam state. Where, then, is perfection? In the Man in heaven. I have it in the knowledge of my position now in Christ, not in fact there myself yet, but in Him; and we are to “bear the image of the heavenly”; in that sense perfect. The Father has set Him at His right hand. Then, suppose I have the knowledge of that, I am called to walk as such. Then why perfect? Because I have fellowship with Him, association with Him where He is.
Does any Christian say, “I am at the foot of the cross?” Christ is not at the foot of the cross. The cross puts a man in heaven. Christ is in heaven. You have not come to Him yet. You are labouring about in the thoughts of your own heart, and have not followed Him in faith to where He is, if you are at the foot of the cross. How do I see the effect of the cross now? By being in heaven. I have come in through this rent veil. (The person is not to be despised who is there; but you have not come in by the cross through the veil, if you are at the foot of the cross.) If you were inside the veil, you would know yourself worse — not one good thing in flesh. It is precious to see a soul exercised even in that way, as the prodigal son in the far country; but he had not come to his father then, he had not found out where he was. There was a mixture of self, not knowing his father, and talking about being a hired servant. It is not humility, as people think, to be away from God, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, as Peter. Is insensibility to God’s goodness humility? The prodigal could not dictate and prescribe when his father was on his neck; he had no business to be in the house at all as a hired servant. It is not humility. It is a mixture of self with the knowledge of having got away from God. Where will you put yourself? You must take Christ’s place or none. That is what is meant by perfect here. There is but one way of coming in; it is by Christ who is in the glory. We have no title to any other place. How is Christ there? Not in virtue of His high priesthood, but He is there in virtue of the offering for sin for us. “I have glorified thee on the earth.” “Father, glorify thy Son.” That is the reason the apostle speaks of the gospel of the glory. Christ is in heaven, the witness of the perfectness of the work that He has done; verse 13, 14. Milk is fit for a babe, and strong meat for a full-grown man; that is all that is meant. Do not let us look for a place the godly Jew had, but the place Christ has. Then he goes on warning them, if they are only on this Jewish ground.
[p. 363] On the cross Christ was drinking the cup; in Gethsemane He was anticipating it. Death and judgment are gone now; Christ cannot die again. The victory is complete. Sins are put away, and He is gone into heaven in consequence; and that victory is ours.
Nothing seemed to be a greater burden on the heart of Paul than to keep the saints up to their privileges. They saw Christ had died for them (and this had not the power over them it ought to have had), but they were risen with Him also; they were in Christ in heavenly places, within the veil; and how were they realising that? — “Are become such as have need of milk.” There is a great deal of love in the heart when first converted. And there is another thing. When first converted, all these things are easier to understand than when more used to hearing them, and the world comes in. When there is freshness in the heart, the understanding goes with it. Great force is in that word “become” (chapter 5: 12) here. See the state they were in (Hebrews 10) when they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had “a better and an enduring substance.” Because they knew they had substance in heaven, they were willing to sacrifice what was here. When Christ had not that place in the heart, they were not willing to give up those things, and the understanding of the heavenly things would be dulled too. Freshness of affection and intelligence go together. When it is bright sunshine, things at a distance are easily seen. If it is dark, there is more difficulty. In the day one may walk through the streets without thinking about the way — one knows it; but at night one has to look and think which way. Just so with spiritual things; there is less spring, less apprehension, less clearness when our hearts are not happy. My judgment is clear when my affections are warm. Motives that acted before cease to be motives when my heart is right. I can count all dross and dung, when force is given to my affections. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
“[p. 364] Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age”; not to persons who have made a great progress, but persons of full age. There were things hard to be uttered, because they were dull of hearing. The freshness of affection being lost was the secret of all this. It is serious to think that freshness of affection and intelligence we may lose; but “to him that hath shall more be given.” There are good and evil to be discerned; therefore I spoke of finding the way.