Hebrews – Message #01: The High Priesthood of Christ Beyond the Veil
The book of Hebrews is not a mere theological treatise or a collection of spiritual encouragements—it is a decisive revelation of Christ’s unique and unrepeatable high priesthood, established beyond the veil. If you miss this, you miss the very foundation of your present rest, your perfected conscience, and your share in Christ’s glory. Hebrews is not about religious striving or endless self-examination; it is about the finished, victorious, and ongoing ministry of Christ, who alone secures your inheritance.
Christ Appointed: A Priesthood of Victory, Not Perpetual Sin Offering
God did not appoint Christ as a Levitical priest, endlessly offering sacrifices for sin. He prepared and established Him according to the order of Melchizedek—a priesthood that is fundamentally different. Melchizedek met Abraham not with reminders of failure, but with bread and wine, symbols of victory and nourishment (Hebrews 7:1–3). This is the ministry Christ now exercises: not a ministry of recurring guilt, but of triumphant celebration and supply.
To reduce Christ’s priesthood to a perpetual dealing with your sin is to trample underfoot the very purpose of His appointment. His ministry is not about keeping you in a cycle of sin-consciousness. Instead, His work purges and perfects your conscience (Hebrews 9:9–14). If you insist on returning to a system of continual sin offerings, you reject the very rest and assurance He came to secure.
The Purged Conscience: The End of Sin-Consciousness
Hebrews is explicit: Christ’s priesthood involves no reference to sin, sin offering, or sin consciousness (Hebrews 7:26–27). This is not a secondary matter. The purged conscience is the necessary result of His finished work. If your conscience is not cleansed, you are not living in the reality of His priesthood. You are left with a shadow, not the substance.
A conscience still burdened by sin is evidence that you have not entered into the rest Christ provides. This is not a matter of spiritual maturity or personal effort—it is a matter of whether you are standing on the ground of Christ’s finished work or not. To remain in sin-consciousness is to deny the effectiveness of His blood and the reality of your justification.
Christ’s Responsibility: The Surety and Guarantee of Your Completion
Christ’s entire earthly life was preparation for His high priestly role (Hebrews 5:7–10). He has assumed full responsibility for the Christian life. He is not a distant observer, waiting for you to prove yourself. He is the surety—the guarantee—that you will reach completion (Hebrews 7:22; 10:23). If your assurance rests anywhere else, you have no assurance at all.
He daily nourishes you with Himself, bringing you into a present rest (Hebrews 4:1–11). This rest is not a future hope; it is a present reality for those who refuse to return to works-based striving. Christ, as the Captain of your salvation, is leading you into glory and the heavenly calling (Hebrews 2:9–10; 3:1). This is not a vague encouragement—it is the concrete outcome of His priestly ministry.
The Everlasting Covenant: From Covenant to Testament
God made an everlasting covenant with Christ, not with you (Hebrews 13:20–21). Christ fulfilled every term, laying down His life and transforming the covenant into a testament—a will that secures your inheritance and rest (Hebrews 9:15–17). Because the Testator has died, the inheritance is irrevocably yours. You are not a contract worker; you are an heir. To place yourself back under a covenant of works is to reject the testament and forfeit your inheritance.
This is the anchor for your soul (Hebrews 6:19–20). Christ’s high priesthood and victory secure your present rest. If you abandon this ground, you lose not only your assurance but the very substance of your Christian life. You are left with nothing but endless striving, a defiled conscience, and the forfeiture of sonship.
What Is Lost If You Accept the Error
If you accept a view of Christ’s priesthood that returns you to sin-consciousness, continual offerings, or personal responsibility for your standing before God, you lose everything that Hebrews proclaims. You lose the purged conscience, the present rest, the guarantee of completion, and the inheritance secured by the testament. You trade the finished work of Christ for the endless treadmill of religious effort. This is not a minor error—it is a collapse of justification, inheritance, and sonship.
The Only Foundation: Christ’s Finished and Ongoing Ministry
Hebrews leaves no room for compromise. The high priesthood of Christ beyond the veil is the only ground for your assurance, rest, and inheritance. Every alternative is a denial of the everlasting covenant and the testament established in His blood. Stand on this ground, and you stand in victory, rest, and glory—not by your own strength, but by the unbreakable guarantee of Christ Himself.
Subjects to Explore:
- The high priesthood of Christ beyond the veil
- Christ’s role as high priest and surety
- The bread and wine ministry as a picture of victory
- The purged and perfected conscience
- The everlasting covenant and testament
- The present rest and heavenly calling secured for believers
Questions to Ponder:
- What does it mean that Christ’s priesthood is “beyond the veil”?
- How does the bread and wine ministry redefine your relationship to sin and rest?
- What is the danger of returning to a system of continual sin offerings?
- How does the everlasting covenant with Christ secure your inheritance?
- In what ways does Christ’s responsibility as surety guarantee your completion?
Do not settle for a shadow when the substance has come. Hebrews demands that you rest in Christ’s finished work, refuse every system that keeps you in sin-consciousness, and lay hold of your inheritance as a son. Anything less is not the gospel.
