יּקנרק'ד

Hebrews Chapter 13  Verses 7-9  

:7 “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” 

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”  The word, “rule,” comes from a Greek word that means “to lead; i.e. command (with official authority).  The gospel ministers are to be leaders in the church.  While, they teach, “thus saith the Lord;” they are also to be leading by their own personal deportment.  They speak the word of God and they are to lead by example.  The walk of a gospel minister should be a walk of faith.  When the walk of the gospel minister is a walk of faith, we are to follow that example he is setting for us.  Paul said: 1 Cor. 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”   

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  As the Son of God, Jesus Christ does not change.  He is the same nature and character and has the same attributes yesterday as he had today and will have for ever.  Jesus Christ is an unchanging God.  Because he cannot change, then his promises cannot fail and he cannot lie or fail of anything he has determined to do.  It should be a great comfort to us that as we change, and things change around us and times and people change, yet we can rely upon one that does not change.   

“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.”  The Lord said concerning the kingdom in Luke 17:20 “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  There are many lo here and lo there teachings in the world.  There are many false prophets and false teachers, trying to draw away disciples after themselves.  Eph. 4:14 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”   

Paul taught there is only one true doctrine of God and that is the doctrine of grace: Gal. 1:6 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”  Divers and strange doctrines, toss us too and fro and we are deceived by them.  Moreover, they lead us into error and false worship and bondage to the work systems of men.   

“For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”  Rom. 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”  Unfortunately, many of God’s children are deceived into believing that worship is found in performing rituals.  As the scripture teaches, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink.  It is not found in rituals, but rather righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  We find this righteousness, peace, and joy through the grace of Christ and in understanding that we have been saved from sin by the grace of Christ and that the Spiritual birth, is by the grace of Christ, and that the scriptures have been given to us by the grace of Christ, and the gospel ministry have been called by the grace of Christ and that all spiritual gifts are by the grace of Christ and that our home in heaven is by the grace of Christ.   

Verses 10-14 

:10 “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”   

In the Old Testament, God had Moses and the children of Israel to construct a tabernacle that contained a sanctuary or holy place, and a place called holiest of all or most holy place.  Separating between the two was a veil.  Just outside the tabernacle was a brazen altar and in the sanctuary was a golden incense altar.  The sacrifices were burned upon the brazen altar.  The priests went within the sanctuary and ordered the table, burnt incense upon the golden altar and attended to the lights of the golden candlestick.  Once a year the high priest took blood from off the altar and carried it into the holiest of all and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat and ark of the covenant.  The priest ate of the sacrifices and of the show bread upon the table in the sanctuary.   

While all of these things had ordinances of divine service, yet they also were a type of the true.  Now let us look at the antitypes presented to us in the book of Hebrews: 

1.  Holiest of all: Heb. 9:11 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”  Here we have identified that the holy place (holiest of all or most holy place) is heaven itself for that is where Christ entered having obtained eternal redemption for us.   

2.  By implication from the above and the following verse we make the conclusion that the true sanctuary is now the Lord’s church: Heb. 8:2 “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” 

3.  The veil: Heb. 10:20 “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;”  The veil separated in the Old Testament between the sanctuary and the holiest of all.  Now the true veil is the flesh of Christ and our entrance into the holiest of all (heaven itself) is through the flesh of Christ. 

4.  The altar was a place for the sacrifice to be offered.  The Old Testament had a brazen altar and a golden incense altar.  The animal sacrifices were made on the brazen altar and incense was offered upon the incense altar.  Thus the brazen altar was a sacrifice altar and the golden altar was a praise altar.  The altar for our sacrifices today is on the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ and his finished work by the grace of God.  Heb. 13:11-13 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”  Christ has sanctified us through his own blood.  This blood offering was not made in the tabernacle that man pitched nor the blood offered in the place known as holiest of all, but this sacrifice was made without the camp and the blood was offered to the Father in heaven.   

“We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.”  Those serving the Old Testament tabernacle which was a type of the true, have failed to recognize that the true sacrifice has been made and all the types and shadows have been fulfilled.  They are still looking for a coming Messiah rather than worshipping the true Messiah who has already come.  They have no right to eat at our altar so long as they are serving the tabernacle.  This is, also, true of those who take parts of the tabernacle service and try to bring it into the New Testament worship.  As we are told in Gal. 5:3 “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”