A Kingdom of Priests (20)

 Advent

 

Continuing with Hebrews Chapter Two:

 

“For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.’” Hebrews 2:11 – 12.

 

Here we have a quotation from Psalm 22:22, a psalm of crucifixion and resurrection, a psalm of a grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying, so that it may bring forth much fruit (John 12:24). This, of course, is also our calling in the Firstborn Son, as Paul writes in 2 Cor. 4:12, “So death works in us, but life in you.”

 

What does it mean when the Firstborn says, “I will declare Your name”? How might we think about this? One of the reasons that this is important is that if Jesus sends us as the Father sent Him, then we also ought to be declaring the Name of the Father to our brethren. Is this what we are doing?

 

Jesus says in John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

 

Philip respond to this by saying, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

 

Jesus replies, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

 

This is to be the measure and standard of our testimony as well, the testimony of the Body of Christ, that the people who see us see Jesus, the Head of the Body; that the people who see us see our Father.

 

Is there not a mystery surrounding the Name of the Father? That Name which the Son declares to His brethren?

 

Let’s consider the following from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:

 

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world…”

 

“Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We…”

 

“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me…”

 

“…and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

Consider the above slowly, that is s-l-o-w-l-y. What do these things mean?

 

The idea that “I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known” suggests an unfolding illumination of the Name, an ever-deepening understanding of the Name, an increasingly intimate koinonia with the Name, the Person, of our Father…indeed, of the Trinity.

 

Perhaps Paul expresses the ever-expanding glory of this when he writes his desire that his readers, “…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 4:18 – 19).

 

One may pray verbally “in the name of Jesus” and yet not know that Name. One may know that Name and yet not pray verbally in the Name of Jesus in a particular situation. Are we so foolish as to think that reciting words, as important as words are, is the equivalent of knowing His Name and of praying in His Name?

 

So then, how did Jesus manifest the Name of the Father? How are we to manifest the Father’s Name?

 

In Christ, how are we to keep others in the Name of the Father? That is, how are we, by the grace of God, to serve others, guard others, shepherd others, in the Father’s Name?

 

How are we receiving the Name of the Father from our Lord Jesus? How are we sharing that Name with our brothers and sisters?

 

A continuing Advent means a continuing declaration and manifestation of the Father’s Name to the “many sons [and daughters] which the Father is bringing to glory” in and through the Firstborn (Hebrews 2:10).

 

As we gather as His People, are we declaring the Father’s Name to one another?

 

Do we have the Name of the Lamb and of our Father written in our hearts and minds (Rev. 14:1)?

 

Is the Nature of the Holy Trinity such within us, His People, that we can begin to see that glorious City descending “from God”?

 

 

 

A Kingdom of Priests (19)

 

Advent

Continuing to ponder Hebrews Chapter Two:

 

Consider that in the Incarnation Jesus Christ became as we are, yet without sin:

 

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus…Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things.” (Hebrews 2:9, 14, 17).

 

An element of the Incarnation is that the Son of God identified Himself with mankind, with the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and specifically with “His brethren” (2:17), that is those of 2:11, those who are called by the Father and from the Father (John 17:6,9, 20 – 21).

 

Since we are sent by Jesus Christ as the Father sent Jesus Christ (John 17:18; 20:21), an element of our own incarnational calling is to identify with mankind, with the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and specifically with our brethren in Christ.

 

There is a holy tension here in that the Church is not the world and the world is not the Church; we are to be distinctly holy as our Father is holy. The Holy City has walls, but it also has gates – and we need to understand them both.

 

Consider Paul in Athens, “…for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.” (Actos 17:28 – 29).

 

Can we see the “we” of this passage? Paul is identifying himself with his audience, a broad audience, an audience that is not predisposed to believe him, an audience that may very well be hostile to him; but he is saying “we.”

 

When I hear sermons in which the preacher is constantly saying “you” to his congregation I cringe. There may be times when we need to say “you,” but they should not be the rule. And for sure, if I must say “you,” I had better first establish a “we.” I must identify with the audience.

 

Then we have 1 Corinthians 9:19 – 23, in which we read, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more…I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the Gospel…”

 

We need to remember that man looks on the outward appearance, but that God looks on the heart, even Samuel the prophet had to be reminded of this. The way folks look can trip us up, I know it can trip me up, what about you?

 

Here again, in 1 Corinthians 9:19 – 23, we see Paul identifying with his broad audience, with all of humanity – the great “we.”

 

But, as I said above, there is a holy tension, for then we have passages such as Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”

 

And then 2 Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”

 

So on the one hand we incarnationally identify with all people, “for God so loved the world,” and on the other hand we specifically identify with the sons and daughters of the Living God, “I will declare Your name to my brethren.” This is, indeed, a holy tension – we may not fully understand this, but we are called to participate in it.

 

This is a dimension of what the continuing Incarnation should look like in us, in you and in me and in our congregations. We can see our dual commitment to the peoples of the world and to the Church in Galatians 6:10:

 

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

 

In Advent Jesus Christ identifies with both humanity in general and particularly with His brothers and sisters in His Father. Does His continuing Advent look like this in our lives? In the lives of our congregations?

 

In Christ, are we living for others?

 

A Kingdom of Priests (18)

 Advent

Meditating on Hebrews Chapter Two, one of the great Advent passages in the Bible:

 

In verses 1 – 4 we read the first of many warnings in Hebrews; let’s note the phrase, “so great a salvation.” How great is this salvation? Consider 2:15, we have been freed from the fear of death. Also ponder 2:16 – 17; God is bringing many sons (and daughters) to glory, and we have one Father with our Lord Jesus, and for this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brethren. (Are we ashamed to call Him our Brother?)

 

This is indeed a “great salvation.” To be freed from the fear of death, to be called “brethren” by Jesus Christ, to have the same Father as Jesus Christ, to realize that our Father is “brining many sons to glory” through Jesus Christ – surely this is a “great salvation.”

 

Why the warning then? Why the warning not to disobey this message? I suppose that, contrary to all common sense and logic, we have the warning because our propensity is to disobey this glorious message. How so?

 

Well, do we not disobey it by not preaching and teaching it? How often have we heard messages that we are the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ? That we are of one Father with Jesus Christ? That the Father is brining many sons and daughters to glory in Jesus Christ? Is this our framework, our motif, our understanding who Jesus Christ is and who we are in Him? As you look back over the messages you’ve heard, perhaps the messages that you yourself have spoken, is this foundational reality in Christ woven into your experience?

 

And then there is the question, “Are we living in this foundational reality, is it woven into the ground of our being?” That is, are we living in this world as Christ Jesus lives in this world? Are we one with Him and the Father in incarnational expression, can we say that to see the Body of Christ is to see Jesus Christ? Are we living as the sons and daughters of God at work, at school, in our families, our neighborhoods, at recreation, in entertainment…in all aspects of life?

 

Are we on mission with the Firstborn Son?

 

As we living in the Priesthood of our High Priest? Are we living as holy and royal priests in Him? Are we offering ourselves to God as both priests and sacrifices?

 

Consider that Chapter Two is a foundational stone for what follows in Hebrews, and what follows is to be read as sons and daughters, as priests…not read as strangers to the Family, not read as those outside the Priesthood of Melchizedek, not read as those outside the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.  

 

In Hebrews 2:12 we read, “I will proclaim Your Name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” This is from Psalm 22:22, in which we see not only the Crucifixion but also the Resurrection, and the fruit of the Resurrection is a “seed that will serve Him” (22:30), a transcendent generation in Him and the Father. (See John 12:23 – 26).

 

And so Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father.” And so Jesus says, “…go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). And so Jesus says, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me…” (John 17:6).

 

Jesus Christ came to call His brothers and sisters home (John 16:25 – 30).

 

What are we to do with the freedom that Jesus has purchased for us? We are to be on mission as He is on mission. We are to lay our lives down as He has laid His life down. We are to serve in His Priesthood. We are to offer ourselves as He has offered Himself. We are to humble ourselves as He has humbled Himself. We are to know Him in the koinonia of His sufferings. As He walked this earth to participate in the Father’s bringing many sons to glory, so ought we to live. As Jesus proclaims the Name of the Father to us, so are we to proclaim the Name of the Father to others.

 

Let us make no mistake, as the Father sent Jesus, even so Jesus sends us (John 17:18, 20:21). Let us not be so foolish as to ignore the warning of Hebrews 2:1 – 4. Let us not be afraid to teach the Scriptures.

 

And let us ponder, that if Jesus was perfected through sufferings (speaking of His humanity) Hebrews 2:10, 5:8 – 9; ought we not to embrace this aspect of cruciform living, so that we might be “partakers of His holiness” (12:10)?

 

Is Advent continuing in us, His People?

 

A Kingdom of Priests (17)

 

Advent

 

Certainly, two of the great Advent passages are Philippians 2:1 – 18 and Hebrews Chapter 2. Yet do we preach these during Advent? Do we meditate on them during this holy season?

 

In Philippians 2:1 – 4 we see that we are to display the life of the Trinity, then in 2:5 – 11 we are to have the same attitude and mind as Christ Jesus in His incarnation, then in 12 – 18 we see facets of Christ working in us and through us – culminating in a picture of Paul being poured out as a sacrificial drink offering, rejoicing (even as Christ Jesus rejoices Hebrews 12:1 – 2). Can we see ourselves and our churches in this extended passage?

 

In 2:1 “if there is any koinonia of the Spirit.” If there is such koinonia, then we are to be of the “same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” Isn’t this a picture of the Godhead? The unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? And isn’t this a picture of our calling in the Trinity in John 17:21 – 23?

 

It is out of this koinonia that we learn to “regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:4) All of the foregoing is what Advent ought to look like in our lives, that continuing Advent in which Jesus Christ lives within His People, His Body.

 

Then we have the Incarnation in Phil. 2:5 – 11, and there is mystery here that is beyond our comprehension; we have 2:7 connecting with John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In turn we see Hebrews 2:9, 14, and 17:

 

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus…Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things…”

 

As Jesus, we are to be bond-servants; as Jesus, we are to humble ourselves; as Jesus, we are to be obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Our lives do not belong to ourselves; as Jesus, we are not to seek to maintain our prerogatives.

 

Philippians 2:1 – 18 teaches us that the Incarnation is to be our model for life, and that the Incarnation is to live within us, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Do we see the relationship of Jesus and the Father in this verse? Consider John 5:19:

 

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.’”  We are to abide in the Vine, for without Him we can do nothing (John 15:1ff).

 

As Jesus is the Light of the world, so in Him we are to be lights in the world (Phil. 2:15). In fact, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world…” (Matt. 5:14). It really does a discredit to Christ for us to sing, “This little light of mine…” We don’t have “little” lights – we have the Light of the world living and shining in us and through us and we ought to be living in that awareness…for it is an awareness of Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, and not ourselves. The world doesn’t need little lights, the world needs the Light.

 

What else can you see regarding Advent in Philippians 2:1 – 18?

 

How is this picture of Advent unfolding in your life?

 

In the lives of our congregations?