Here's a five point analysis of our
heavenly Advocate!
Did you notice that first He is called
"holy?"
The word in Greek is "hosios."
This is an unusual word for
holiness too!
It is only used 8 times in the whole New
Testament!
It has the root meaning of being "right!"
("Being 'right' by one's own intrinsic
character" is how one lexicon I use puts it! Wow! We
saved Christians are NEVER right by our own intrinsic
character! We are only right through the applied Blood of Jesus
and the amazing power of the Holy Spirit Who indwells us,
imparting to us the character of Christ! But Jesus is RIGHT by
virtue of Who He is ... the very Son of God! The old timers
used to call Him "Very God of Very God!")
"Hosios" ... being holy because of what
one essentially is ... differs drastically from every other New
Testament word for purity of life!
The common Greek word for "righteousness"
is "dikaios" and means innocent or holy in one's actions toward
his fellow man.
Also the adjective "heiros" means sacred
(especially in respect to ritual worship). It eventually came
to mean the very (holy) Temple area too.
And "hagios" means separated from anything
filthy, therefore physically pure!
I have no doubt that Jesus is all of these
combined into One Glorious Person! But as our great High Priest,
He is particularly "hosios!" He is What He is! And He is
perfect intrinsically, within and of Himself! (He needs no help
being holy!) He IS holiness!
Six of the eight times "hosios" is used in
the New Testament it is directly and positively used of Jesus
too!
He is "the Holy One" of God! (Acts 2:27
and Acts 13:35 ... both Peter and Paul call Jesus the Holy One!
And they are quoting the 16th Psalm too.) "Holy" in the Term
"holy" One is "hosios."
This is perhaps the HIGHEST Greek word for
"holiness" (the most noble) of them all!
And it describes our High Priest the Lord
Jesus!
Listen to the angels in Isaiah 6:3 ---
"And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy,
is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of
his glory." (They are including the Second Person of The
Trinity, Jesus, in that adoration!)
And John chimes in too as he describes the
heavenly scene: "And the four beasts had
each of them six wings about him; and they were
full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
(Revelation 4:8) They are talking about the precious
Lord Jesus!
Let me show you one more thing. In
Revelation 16:5, the last use of "hosios" in the New Testament,
we learn something critical. "And I heard
the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which
art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus."
Our word "hosios" is here translated "and
shalt be!" The King James translators here, being supreme
scholars as they were, are assuring us that the HOLINESS ("hosios")
of the Lord (our Great High Priest) is an eternal state with
him! He is "hosios" forever. He "shall be" hosios for now on
... through the ages of the ages!
Our Lawyer in Heaven, our Advocate, our
High Priest is incapable of sinning ever!
How very secure that should make us feel
today!
(If you are in court ... it certainly
would be good to know that your Lawyer is not even able to make
a mistake in representing you and your needs! He has an
unblemished record! He is naturally and perfectly so gifted!
You are absolutely assured of victory! Your justification has
been obtained! Everything is all right! Plus, Biblically
speaking, your Lawyer IS the Judge also! I would definitely
say, "You're on the winning side!")
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2:
Jesus is not only "holy" as
our great High Priest! He is also "harmless!"
This specialized word is in
Greek spelled "akakos." It means not __________.
(The "a" prefixing this word means no or not. It "negates"
the word.) Affixed to "a" is "kakos," the Greek adjective
that means bad! But it means bad in a "worthless" sense!
Jesus is NOT worthless! Never is there a second that He is
not accomplishing something good on behalf of His Own! "Kakos"
means intrinsic evil or harm too! (Intrinsic means within
one naturally! Inbred! Inborn!) There is no
evil thing IN Jesus at all ... ever! No harm! "Kakos,"
being badness within oneself ... must be distinguished from the
Greek word "poneros" which is badness or evil that is loose and
vicious and spreading to all around it! "Kakos" in
confined ... "poneros" is malignant and growing!
Jesus, as High Priest, will
HURT not one of His children who comes to God by Him! He
perfectly fulfills Paul's description of a Man of God in 2nd
Timothy 2:24-25. "And the servant of
the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt
to teach, patient, in meekness instructing ...."
That's at least part of the idea behind "harmless."
The word "akakos" also means
without guile or fraud! He (Jesus) will never mislead
anyone! He Himself said to His Disciples in John 14:2 ---
"If it were not so, I would
have told you!" He is open and transparent and
un-hypocritical!
And the word also can
secondarily mean: "Fearing no evil from others!
Distrusting no one!" Jesus just does not have a suspicious
nature when it comes to those who believe in Him! Now I
think He did have a suspicious view of His enemies! And
even of lost mankind! John 2:25 ---
"And (Jesus) needed not that any should testify of man: for He
knew what was in man." Wow!
Also let me mention that "akakos"
is only used twice in the whole Bible. Here in Hebrews
7:26 and again in Romans 16:18 where it is translated "simple."
See for yourselves: "For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly;
and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple." (Meaning not "experts" in evil!) Maybe
we can get a better "feel" for what Paul is saying here by
adding the next verse: "For your
obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad
therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto
that which is good, and
simple concerning evil." Yes!
Think! Our dear Saviour
WAS made to be sin for us on Calvary! Indeed!
"For He (The Father) hath made Him (Jesus)
to be sin for us, Who (Jesus) knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus)." Glory
to God! Yet the fact remains that in "practice" Jesus had
not participated in any sin at all! He was "innocent" in
that sense! He is (in that respect also) harmless!
He never used profanity. He never got drunk. He
never had a lustful thought. He never had a guilty
conscience. He never ate too much. He never "fell"
into any kind of sin.
What a Saviour!
What a High Priest!
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3:
Our great High
Priest is none other than Jesus!
He is described
in minute detail in Hebrews 7:25-26.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners, and made higher than the heavens."
He is here characterized as being
"undefiled."
The Greek word is "amiantos" which means
not (the "a" prefix) tainted or contaminated (the
"miaino" verb)!
Originally the root verb "miano" meant "to
paint in color!" It of course came to mean to be "painted" with
the taint of sin! Jesus was un-painted! In the religious sense
the verb meant "to stain," but particularly in the area of "bloodguiltiness!"
Ezekiel 23:37 illustrates this Bible concept for us:
"That they have committed adultery, and
blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they
committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they
bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour
them." Bloody hands! Well, Jesus' Hands are unstained
... no bloodguiltiness there! Then the verb carried this idea
too: The Roman or Greek doer ("miano") transferred the "stain"
of his wrongs to his fellow-citizens and to his city and to the
temple of his gods! Transferred filth! Glory to God, Jesus has
no stain to transfer! We cannot be wrongly influenced by our
Great High Priest! He is incapable of tainting us. He is
spotless! (In fact, He does NOT transfer to us guilt ... but
Righteousness!) Then ... in its most mundane definition, the
word "amiantos" means "free from dirt!" Physically clean! Yes,
we have an undefiled Lord!
Let me add this too. The adjective is
used only 4 times in the Bible. Here they are: (1) Hebrews
7:26 ... Jesus our Saviour and Great High Priest is undefiled!
He's never been stained or spotted by anything! Then (2)
Hebrews 13:4 ... The godly marriage bed is pure and undefiled
(no adultery or fornication having polluted it)! Plus (3) James
1:27 ... One's religion or Christianity can be pure and
undefiled, if it's kept separate from the world! And lastly (4)
1st Peter 1:4 ... Each Believer has an inheritance in heaven
which is incorruptible and undefiled and never fades away!
You see the Priests on earth during Bible
times were all spotted! (Granted, they were spotted (by sin and
the world) ... then cleansed, but nevertheless spotted! But
Jesus was never spotted by anything at all! One might say He
was "unspottable!"
That means Jesus never has to take time
and care for His sins! He has none! He does not have to stop
caring for His children (us) in order to atone for one of His
mistakes. He makes none! And never has made one!
Again, He is undefiled! Eternally so!
That's what the very next verse tells us
about HIM ... "Who (Jesus) needeth not
daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for
His Own sins, and then for the people's!" No! "His Own
Sins" were non-existent! (Hebrews 7:27)
What purity!
Not only is He sinless!
He is spotless and sinless!
Not just "pure" now!
But never having been unpure!
Glory to God!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
In Hebrews 7:26 five precious
inspired adjectives or adjectival phrases are used to describe
Jesus as our Great High Priest!
Among those He is
"separate from sinners!"
The expression just before
this one is "undefiled!" There He is separate from any
spot or stain of sin! Now ... He is separate from sinners
themselves!
The verb "separate" is in
Greek "chorizo" and means to be set apart from something or
someone. It comes from "chora," a noun that means space or
room. Jesus has put "space" between Himself and sinners!
("To place room between!") This verb is a "perfect,"
telling us that once Jesus began that status --- separate from
sinners --- He has remained that way ever since!
I can find the word 13 times
in the New Testament. It is rendered "put asunder" in
Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9 (as in divorce)! It is
"depart" in Acts 1:4 and 18:1 and 2. It is translated
"separate" in the great Romans 8:35 and 39 text! And again
we find a string of "departs" (in reference to marriage)
in 1 Corinthians 7 (verses 10 and 11 and 15)! Plus
Philemon verse 15 tells us Onesimus "departed" from Philemon.
You can see that it's a pretty strong word.
Then the noun "sinners" needs
to be studied. "Amartolos" means someone who missed the
mark of God's perfect plan for their lives. One who has
(obviously) sinned and "come short" of God's portion for them!
"A" means no or not. And "meros" means an allotment or
share or division or section! Thus to sin means to knock
oneself out of something good God had planned for the erring
person!
Now, how are we going to
explain that phrase?
"Separate from
sinners!"
Jesus on earth was anything
but separate from sinners I believe. (Now don't
misunderstand me. He never sinned! He never
committed one evil deed in the presence of any sinner! He
was and is perfect! Yet He ate with sinners! He
talked with them and touched them and failed to recommend
stoning them and "received" them willingly!) See Luke 15:2
--- "And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with
them." Or Luke 7:34 --- "The
Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a
gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!"
When did the Saviour become
"separate from sinners?"
I suggest to you ... when He
ascended to Heaven and became our great High Priest!
At that point it looks to me
like His prayers and concern and passion are totally with His
people! (Read the John 17 prayer of Jesus, which is a
"prototype" of what He is praying for us right now ... and see
what I mean! Here's the way Jesus is praying for sinners
now ... "Neither pray I for
these alone (Christians), but for them also which shall believe
on me (sinners) through their word." Any prayer
lost folks get now comes THROUGH Jesus' prayers for His saints!
"Father, empower their words ... give them fruit ... lost souls
to be saved!" Wow! Also notice Jesus' words in
earlier in John 17 --- "I pray for them: I
pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me;
for they are thine." Pretty powerful, isn't it?
(I've just quoted verse 20, then verse 9 of John 17.)
He is indeed now ... separate
from sinners!
That means He is totally 100%
completely dedicated to the needs of His sons and daughter, his
Body, here on earth!
What a Saviour!
What a Lord!
What a High Priest!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5:
How can anyone
be "higher than the heavens?"
Yet that is
precisely what Jesus our Great High Priest is said to be in
Hebrews 7:26!
Look!
"For such an high priest became us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens."
See it? There
at the end of the verse!
"Higher than the heavens!"
We are here reading some of the
"qualifications" possessed by our Great High Priest!
The verb "made" indicates that this was an
act of God bestowed upon Jesus in a once-for-all moment of the
past. It can mean "to come into history" or "to come into
being." Jesus has been PLACED higher than the heavens by the
Father ... for our sake!
Now, hear me. Jesus has always been God
the Son! He has eternally been the Second Person of the
Trinity! His humanity became a reality when He took upon
Himself the flesh of a little baby boy, coming to earth via a
miracle we call the Virgin Birth! But that has nothing to do
with His Deity at all! "IN THE BEGINNING
was the Word (Logos, Jesus)" says John in the very first
verse of His Gospel!
But as the Virgin Born, Sinless,
Crucified, Buried, Risen, Ascended, Victorious, Interceding Lord
and Saviour ... He is NOW made "higher than the heavens!"
This expression is similar to what Paul
said in Philippians 2. "Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name: That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father." Or listen to this about Jesus in
Ephesians 4:10 --- "He that descended is
the same also that ascended up
far above all heavens,
that he might fill all things." Yes!
Three times in the Psalms (57:5 and 57:11
and 108:5) these words are found: "Be thou
exalted, O God, above
the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth."
And Jesus has fulfilled that prayer!
Once He was made
"lower than the angels!" Now He is
"higher than the heavens!"
This phrase occurs nowhere else in all of
Scripture. This conferred honor makes Jesus our High Priest
"immeasurably superior" to anything or anyone else!
Here the Abode of God is described not
simply as being in heaven ... but more than that, HIGHER than
the created heavens! No wonder they call Him a Great HIGH
Priest!
That "little" devil (satan) doesn't have a
chance! He is merely the "prince of the
power of the air!" Again, our Lord is
"high above the heavens!"
I suspect we have just been studying the
highest description of Jesus' Exaltation anywhere in the Bible!
I imagine that if a mere enlisted soldier
were fighting a battle and needed help or advice or resources
immediately ... it would thrill him exceedingly to realize that
someone in the Pentagon
had him in mind and in view and fully planned to supply his
need! In the Pentagon!
Well, Christian soldier, you have Someone
doing that for you (and more ...like PRAYING for you)! Except
for this fact: Your Intercessor is in a place much higher than
the Pentagon ... or Air Force One ... or the Space Station ...
or the orbiting planets ... or even heaven itself!
Where comes our Help?
From "higher than
the heavens!"
Praise the Lord for such a Saviour/High
Priest!
This gives me a whole new perspective on
the Name: "Most High God!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6:
We are told that our Great
High Priest "became us!" What
does this lovely old King James expression mean?
"For
such an high priest became us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than
the heavens." Hebrews 7:26
The verb for "became" is "prepo"
in Greek. In its original sense it meant "to tower up!"
Or "to be conspicuous!" Then by implication it came to
mean that which is "suitable or proper." (Fit or right or
comely or appropriate!) Another source says it means: to
stand out! To be eminent! To be becoming!
It is found only 7 times (an
interesting number) in the Bible!
In Matthew 3:15 it was
"fitting" that Jesus be baptized! A mountain-peak in His
Life ... "prepo" means "to tower up!" Let's mention the
other 6 "mountain-peaks" too!
In 1 Corinthians 11:13 it was
"fitting" that a lady represent the church/Christ relationship!
In Ephesians 5:3 it is
"fitting" that we live godly lives!
In 1 Timothy 2:10 it is again
"fitting" for ladies to live for God (as a picture of the church
I'm sure)!
In Titus 2:1 it is "fitting"
that sound doctrine be preached!
In Hebrews 2:10 it was
"fitting" to God the Father that Jesus die on the Cross to save
sinners!
And here in Hebrews 7:26 it is
"fitting" that Jesus serve eternally as our Great High Priest!
It seems to me that all of
God's sense of propriety derives from the Life and Work of Jesus
His darling Son! (Particularly in the area of bringing His
Bride the Church to glory and maturity!)
How "becoming!"
And how VERY blessed that
makes each of us Believers too!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
Hosea 4:9 says
this: "And there shall be,
like people, like
priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward
them their doings."
Look especially
at the phrase "like people, like priest."
In other words ... as did the people, so did the
priests!
In those dark
days of sin and backsliding, the Jewish priests behaved
themselves as badly as did the erring public!
This situation has repeated itself in
American culture too.
Priests ("clergy" as much of the world
understands the term) have become as ungodly as the crowd!
Child molestation, drunkeness, adultery or
fornication, lying and deceit only begin to describe the
situation!
And even when one delves into the realm of
fundamental Bible-believing Preachers, there is surprise
awaiting! There also compromise, laziness, carelessness,
prayerlessness, Bible neglect and a whole lot more have seeped
in from all sides!
Listen to what Jeroboam did in his day.
"And he made an house of high places, and
made priests of the
lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of
Levi." 1 Kings 12:31
And I'm telling you right now ... if the
Priests (Preachers) are wicked, there is no hope for the people!
In many ways this social axiom is true:
As go a nation's preachers ... so go the whole population."
(We in America ... if "help" and true
"revival" ever come ... will see God begin such a work in the
pulpits of the land!)
"Like people, like
priest!"
The priests had "sold out!"
That brings me to my point today.
We as born-again Christians also have a
Priest!
A High Priest!
A Great High Priest!
He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God!
And He, our High Priest, is NOT like the
people!
At least not like them in sin and
degradation! (He never has ... nor ever will sin!)
Listen.
"For
such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."
Hebrews 7:26
Yes!
That says it all!
Jesus is different!
He did not "sell out!"
Therefore ... instead of Jesus being like
us ... we, being daily fashioned by the Holy Spirit of God, are
more and more made like Him!
We shall some day even be fully
"conformed to the image of God's Son."
So says Paul in Romans 8:29.
Here's the same thought again:
"Till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ: 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; but speaking
the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even
Christ!" Ephesians 4:13-15
Us ... like Jesus!
And, again, how is He?
"Holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than
the heavens." Hebrews 7:26
In other words, we shall eternally be with
Him and like Him, our great successful majestic glorious
victorious sinless High Priest!
For all of heavenly eternity the rule
shall be ... NOT "like people, like
priest" ... BUT INSTEAD
"like Priest, like people."
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8:
Now in verse 25 notice the
conjunction "wherefore." Here it is: "Wherefore
He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
It gives linkage to the
previous verses or "context" of our pericope. (A "pericope"
is a body of written data "cut out" from its major corpus
location!)
Now "othen" in Greek,
pronounced "hoth'-en," here translated "wherefore" ... means
from whence or whereupon. (Of the source from which!)
Our verse is saying something
like this: Hence ... since our Jesus as Great High Priest
is all these (previous) things ... He consequently is powerfully
able to save to the very point of maturity those believers who
keep coming to God by Him! He will do for them whatever
they really need ... no exceptions! And He exists
eternally to do so!
But ... what are the
antecedent qualities that determine this ability to save?
To answer this question we are
driven back into the other verses of our chapter (Hebrews 7).
Point 1 ... Since Jesus is not
from the tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe), can He indeed be a
priest? Yes! God has created for Him a class of
priesthood that supercedes that of Aaron. Being both a
King and a Priest, Jesus' priesthood is on the order of one
named Melchisedec of Salem! (Later Jerusalem!) The
name means "king of righteousness!" This is a superior
priesthood! (Verses 1-16)
Point 2 ... His "ordination"
is greater than that of Aaron and his sons too! They were
made priests by human obedience to God's commands (being
"anointed" with oil). Jesus was made Priest by
an oath of God
... "Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 7:17 here
quotes Psalm 110:4 --- "The LORD hath
sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek." Wow! (Verses
20-21)
Point 3 ... All those priests
as sons of Aaron eventually died! Jesus will never die
again! He is alive eternally! We shall never have to
have another High Priest! (Verses 23-24)
Point 4 ... All the Old
Testament priests first had to made a offering for their own
sins before they could make atonement for the people! Not
so with Jesus! He was perfect! Sinless! He had
only to deal with our sins! Again, He is BETTER than them
all! (Verses 27-28)
For all these reasons (and
many more I'm sure) ... one can say:
"Wherefore he (JESUS) is
able!"
Amen!
Really, let's get all the
verse in here! "Wherefore He is able
also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
The Foundation is well laid
... Jesus is ABLE, is all-sufficient ... and is
The Great High Priest!
May we thank Him and adore Him
and worship Him today!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9:
"He is ABLE!"
That's what the
Bible says of Jesus!
Four times in
fact (using those exact words)!
In Philippians
3:21 Jesus is able to subdue all things unto Himself!
In 2 Timothy
1:12 He is able to keep us!
In Hebrews 2:18
He is able to help ("succour") us when we're tempted!
And in Hebrews 7:25 He is able to save us
to the uttermost!
In each of the above cases the Greek verb
used is "dunamai." It's one of a family of related "power"
words used by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. It
specifically means "to have might or strength!" It likely
differs from its synonyms by virtue of its emphasis on
"inherent" strength! "Dunatos," the noun, does not means
borrowed power! Nor does it means temporary power! It implies
power solely possessed within oneself and sufficient for any
need!
In Philippians 3:21 Jesus is able in
reference to PROPHECY!
In 2 Timothy 1:12 He is able in reference
to our PROTECTION!
In Hebrews 2:18 He is able in reference to
our PURITY!
And in Hebrews 7:25 He is able in
reference to PRAYER!
(Our list above does not count the 5 times
Scripture says "God is able!" Or the 1 time it says "The Lord
is able." Or the 2 times the Word of God is declared to be
able!)
It sounds to me like there's a lot of
ABILITY in the Godhead!
So much so that He is certified to be
"omnipotent!" ("Omni" being a Latin prefix meaning all
... and "potent" being a derivative of their word for power!)
Little wonder the resurrected Jesus said
these words to His disciples in Matthew 28:18 ---
"All power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth."
ALL POWER!
So just to focus on one of the four verses
mentioned earlier, Hebrews 7:25 assures us Christians that our
Great High Priest (as Jesus is presented in that context) IS
ABLE to save us for all time and all the way to full maturity!
That's why He is interceding on our behalf right now!
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth
to make intercession for them."
We Believers simply MUST trust in the all
sufficiency of Jesus our Lord and Saviour!
Paul even believed He could
"do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."
Ephesians 3:20
And what should This Mighty POWER of His
cause us to do?
Back to Paul. He answers that question
too in the very next verse.
Ephesians 3:21 ---
"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen."
Nothing more needs to be said.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10:
I believe Hebrews 7:25 is
written to Christians!
"Wherefore He
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
But Preacher Bagwell, it uses
the verb "save!"
Yes, salvation comes in 3
tenses.
We are saved (past tense) from
our sin and rebellion the moment we repent and trust Jesus' shed
Blood!
We are being saved day by day
from the power of the sins that still beset us! (Specific sins
should not have the "pull" and "sway" over us they once did!)
And one day ahead we shall be
saved from the very presence of sin ... when we go to be with
Jesus! This will include the redemption even of our
bodies!
So when we are told that Jesus
can "save" us (as Believers) ... reference is being made to our
deliverance from the nagging power in sin in our lives. He
lives to give us the daily victory! Listen to Scripture:
"For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by
his
life." Romans 5:10
The precise verb used here for
"save" is in Greek "sozo." It's a present infinitive and
suggests on-going constant saving power! (Much like 1st
John 1:7 --- "But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
There too the verb "cleanseth" is a present tense ... the Blood
keeps on cleansing us day by day!) And here Jesus keeps on
saving us day by day.
I am told by those who study
such things that the verb here ("sozo") relates two major word
pictures. It was primarily used as a battlefield word.
It meant to come and win the victory over some oppressive and
deadly enemy! Well, Jesus did! It also pictures a
hospital suite. It means (like a skilled physician) to
deliver one who is sure for immediate death! Doctor Jesus
took care of that too!
I was losing the battle to the
devil. He wanted me in hell. Then Jesus came!
And defeated death, hell, the grave and the devil! He won
the victory and I am set free! Jesus The Victor!
And I was spiritually sick
with the terminal disease called sin! There was no hope.
Then Jesus came! He touched me and made me well and whole!
Now I am healed of the sin malady. Not one blot is on my
record since I've been justified! The Great Physician!
And ... as a Christian ... in
every area of life, with every problem and situation, I have a
Great High Priest Who "saves" me daily, praying for my every
need!
What a thought!
Glory to His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11:
"To the uttermost!"
We have all
heard that Bible phrase quoted by Preachers for years.
In South
Carolina where I grew up ... a famous saying (and I liked it
too) was that our God could save "from the guttermost to the
uttermost!"
By that was
meant He could save anyone who repented and believed on
Him, anyone!
Amen!
The exact English term "to the uttermost"
occurs only in Hebrews 7:25. It is used of Jesus as our Great
High Priest! "Wherefore He is able also
to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them."
The word "uttermost" alone occurs
elsewhere in Scripture 27 more times.
However the Greek expression "eis to
panteles," which is translated "to the uttermost" is found one
more time in the Bible. It's in Luke 13.
"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity
eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could
in no wise
lift up herself." (Luke 13:1) The words "in no wise"
translated "eis to panteles."
Now, get this. It's very important!
When Paul tells us in Hebrews 7 that Jesus
saves us "to the uttermost," he is (in that context) talking to
Christians! He is NOT addressing the issue of how bad they were
before salvation. He is NOT even discussing the moment they
first believed! He IS talking about what God is doing in their
lives (our lives too) at the present moment!
He IS SAVING us right now!
Saving us from the world, the flesh and the devil and our easily
besetting sins! We can only live victoriously day by day as He
prays for us and oversees us ("saves" us) from the Right Hand of
The Father in Heaven! His death saved us from Hell!
His Life saves us to faithfully serve Him in victory
hour by hour. Here's my basis for such a statement:
"For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life."
Romans 5:10
Don't misunderstand me! If you're washed
in the Blood of Jesus ... you're going to heaven when you die!
The record of your sin is gone! Washed away! BUT your ability
to live for Him comes day by day through His High Priestly
Ministry and the working of the Holy Spirit, Whom He (Jesus) has
sent to be our Comforter and Strength!
Now, back to the words
"to the uttermost."
They mean literally "into the complete
goal!" Or more figuratively: "to the very end of God's design
for you!"
"Eis to panteles" ...
Let study this.
"Eis" is a preposition meaning "into."
"To" is simply the article, meaning "the."
"Pan," the prefix," just means all!
And "telos" is the noun that means goal,
end desire, plan or purpose.
Jesus is going to stick with us ... pray
for us ... intercede on our behalf ... keep sending the Holy
Spirit ... continue transforming us ... never quitting ... UNTIL
we have arrive totally and fully at the GOAL He has set for us!
And what is that goal?
To use the words of Romans 8:28 ... that
we might be "conformed
to the image of his Son (Jesus)!"
I hope you see this truth!
He will save you "to the uttermost!"
Here's another way of putting it. Paul
said this to the Philippians: "Being
confident of this very thing, that
He
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6
The Lord will not stop until we have
reached His goal for us ... to the uttermost!
Praise His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 12:
Who is it that God saves
"to the uttermost" here?
It is those who
"come to God by Him!" The
"Him" is Jesus our Great High Priest!
Here's the whole verse:
"Wherefore He is able also to save
them to the
uttermost that come unto
God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them."
Hebrews 7:25
The verb for "come" here is "proserchomai"
and is in the present tense in Greek. That means they keep on
coming and coming and coming! That's what we Christians
are to do day by day! (Really it should be hour by hour or
moment by moment!)
"Pros - erchomai," with
that prefix, means to come Face to Face with the Lord Jesus!
That's what we do in prayer! We are spiritually lifted
into the heavenlies ... and face our Darling Intercessor Jesus
... Who loves us and presents our requests and needs to the
Father!
And we are to do this
habitually!
Here's the same verb in the
same tense in the same type context elsewhere in Hebrews.
"Let
us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16
The Christian life is one of
constantly coming to the Son! In fact, Scripture
illustrates this truth by teaching us to ABIDE in Him just as
branches do in the grape Vine!
And it's THAT crowd, the
redeemed who come to God by Jesus habitually, who will reap the
fullest blessings of Jesus' intercessory Ministry! ("To
the uttermost!)
OH, DEAR FRIEND!
Live in His Presence!
Now I have found some other
"coming before God" instances in Hebrews.
I mentioned 4:16 earlier.
But look at Hebrews 10:19-22.
"Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to
say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house
of God; let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed
with pure water." Wow!
Just look at the results of
that drawing nigh! (In fact, those "blessings" of coming
to our High Priest by the Blood of Jesus continue through verse
25!)
Come to Him now ... boldly!
Come to Him now ... by means
of the Blood!
Come to Him now ... to grow to
the "uttermost."
What a Ministry the risen
Jesus has even NOW (on our behalf) at the Father's Right Hand!
One can't help but love Him
more and more!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 13:
Jesus
"ever liveth!"
I love that
King James Version terminology with its exquisite English and
precise accuracy.
Scriptures says
nearly the same thing about our dear Lord elsewhere.
Particularly in
the Book of Revelation where we're told 5 times that the Lamb
(Jesus) "liveth for ever and ever!"
(The Greek expression used those 5 times says: He
"liveth into the ages of the ages!" That's beautiful!)
However when Hebrews 7:25 says: Jesus
"ever liveth" ... it expresses it
slightly differently. Literally as a participial phrase, Jesus
"pantote zao" (Greek), or
"ever liveth" (English)! Let's look at both those
words. "Pantote" grammatically means: ALL ("pan") WHEN
("tote")! At all whens! At all times! (Never will there be an
occasion when Jesus is not living! Rest assured, the next time
you're in a problem situation, in a storm of life, in a crisis
of gigantic proportions, Jesus WILL BE LIVING AND WILL BE THERE
TO HELP YOU! "At all whens!") Then the word
"liveth" is zao, the verb that
suggests life on the highest plane! Real life! Not just
biological life, but meaningful emotional volitional
intellectual spiritual life! Life abundant! Jesus is REALLY
alive today! "Bios" is life on the cellular level! Mere
scientific life!
By expressing Jesus' High Priestly life in
this precise manner ... "ever liveth"
... pantote zao (at all whens) ... the Holy Spirit is telling us
that whenever the need arises ... Jesus will be available. This
is similar to the truth taught in Hebrews 4:16 about our High
Priest Jesus: "Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need." Come any time! To
find help! After all He is ever alive! Always there!
Never "off-duty!"
But Preacher Bagwell, WHY does He ever
live?
So we can come to God
"BY HIM!"
Let me show you our whole verse again:
"Wherefore He is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He
ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews
7:25)
I've underlined the two terms we're
linking today. Since He is always alive ... always able ...
always praying for me ... I can come to God (the Father) BY
Him! That little preposition is "dia" which means, when used
with a Genitive Case noun or pronoun ("Him") as here ... "by
means of" or "through." It actually pictures Jesus as the
Pipe or the Channel or the Way by Which we
have access to God!
I, as a Blood Washed Christian, always
have means of entrance into the Father's Presence ... because
Jesus, The Way, "ever liveth!"
What a blessing!
Yes, this is the same Jesus who died that
we might be saved! But He was only dead three days and three
nights! Let John the Revelator explain it, using the very words
of Jesus. "I am he that liveth, and was
dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death." He WAS dead! But now He IS
alive! Forevermore! (Revelation 1:18) Again in Revelation 2:8
we meet the same truth too! "And
unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith
the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive."
When I started these Bible Study
web-pages, I eventually had to add in our home a "high speed
internet" service. (It was just too "slow" adding page after
page with the old "dial-up" system.) One of the things I like
best about "high speed" is that you are
always connected
to the internet. I always have my browser set to
drmikebagwell.org. Always! The Server I rent is always up and
running. Theoretically! But I have noticed that in the past
nearly year and a half a few times when I went to type a new
Page ... there was nothing! No access! The server was "down!"
No drmikebagwell.org! The connection was severed! What
frustration that induced!
Well, I have good news!
The "connection" to Heaven is never
broken! Not just in theory ... but in fact ... Jesus
"ever liveth" to exercise His
Office as our great High Priest! Wal-Mart won't mind me using
their word here: "Always!" Jesus is always alive, always
ready, always interceding!
What a Saviour! Not just for what He has
done ... but for what He is doing right now too! (Not to even
mention what He's going to do yet in the future!)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 14:
Jesus, now in
His resurrected glorified yet literal body, is sitting at the
Right Hand of the Throne of God and ...
"making intercession" ... for His Own Children!
Twice in the
New Testament we're told that the Holy Spirit makes intercession
for us, and twice that Jesus does! (See Romans 8:26 and 27 for
the Spirit then Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 for Jesus!)
Actually
Hebrews 7:25 tells us that's why Jesus lives now ...
"to make intercession" for us who
believe in Him!
Here's the whole verse:
"Wherefore He is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever
liveth to make
intercession for them."
A close look at the verb "make
intercession" will prove beneficial.
Maybe Romans 8:34 will explain it a little
further. "It is Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us." The
"intercession" is made ... on our behalf ... but TO God the
Father! This is Jesus praying to His Father ... for us! If you
think I've worded that too strongly, see Hebrews 9:24 ---
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the
presence of God for us." Wow! Did
you see that? "For us!" He is
appearing at God's Right Hand ... "FOR
US!"
The Greek verb translated "make
intercession" is spelled this way: "entugchano." Grammatically
it means "to hit upon" or "to light upon" something or someone!
Some lexicons interpret it to mean something like this: "to
happen upon a meeting with someone!"
"Making intercession," being a prayer
term, is something here that Jesus does to His Father! Let me
illustrate: You, dear Christian Friend, are living your life
for God here on earth! Trouble comes! Maybe in the form of a
temptation ... or sickness ... or discouragement ... whatever
... and you need HELP! Immediately Jesus, the Good (or Great)
Shepherd sees your need and "lights" or "hits" upon His Father
to send you help in the time of need! He is "interceding" for
you!
When this verb is studied in the light of
ancient culture ... the following points are often emphasized.
It is used "of an encounter between two men!" Or "to run up
against someone." It is found also in the context of "a meeting
between two for conversation or companionship!" The point of
the meeting may be "negative" (like a complaint) ... but most
often it is "positive" (a kind word or a prayer)! Even this
negative sense is in the New Testament twice! In Romans 11:2
Elijah "makes intercession" to God AGAINST Israel! And in Acts
25:24 (where it is translated "dealt with") the Jews intercede
to the Authorities against Paul!
The verb eventually came to mean: "to
pray to" or "to solicit" or "to petition" someone!
Other definitions found in various
sources: To turn to God in prayer! To "have to do" with
someone! "To approach" someone! (In later Roman/Greek life,
the word was used to indicate "official petitions!")
Put it all together and you have a
composite of what Jesus is doing right now at the Father's Right
Hand! Praying for us!
The English word "intercede" comes from a
Latin background! "Inter" is a preposition that means
"between!" And "cedere" is a verb that means "to go!" Thus ...
to "intercede" for someone is to get between them and someone
else (God the Father) in order to help them and represent them
and plead for them!
Either way, English or Greek (and I
suspect any other language too), it is good to know ... He
makes intercession on our behalf!
Think about that today!
How very encouraging!
But let me give you this quick little
warning. The Devil does NOT want you to consider Jesus your
High Priest in His intercessory Office! He fights such
thinking! In Hebrews 5 when Paul taught the Christians about
Jesus' High Priesthood ... Satan made their ears tired of
hearing! "(Jesus) Called of God an High
Priest after the order of Melchisedec, of Whom we have many
things to say, and hard to be uttered,
seeing ye are dull of
hearing." Hebrews 5:10-11 (That word "dull"
means lazy!) When the High Priesthood of Jesus came up for
discussion, their ears got "lazy!" The Enemy does NOT want you
to know that Jesus is interceding for you daily!
And if YOU determine to think a lot today
of Jesus' intercession ... Satan will fight that as well! The
old Deceiver would much rather have you worrying or fighting or
doubting!
But let's strive to obey Hebrews 3:1 ---
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the
Apostle and
High Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus; Who was faithful to him that
appointed him!"
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 15:
The last words of verse 25 say
"for them." Look: "Wherefore
He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them."
(Hebrews 7:25)
For whom?
For whom is Jesus praying?
For those who believe in Him!
For those who are saved!
For those who being saved,
consequently regularly (habitually) come to God by Him!
And that includes the
born-again Blood-washed Christians of our day too!
Folks like you and me!
He makes intercession FOR us!
I would like to study with you
that little preposition ... FOR!
In Greek it is spelled "huper."
When it comes into English (is "anglicized" they say) it becomes
"hyper!"
The object of the preposition
"huper" her in our verse is the pronoun "them" (in Greek =
"autos"). The point being this pronoun is in the genitive
case. That's important because the "case" being used
determines to some degree the meaning the preposition bears.
"Huper" with the genitive
often means "in the place of." However it can equally
carry the meaning: "in the interests of" or "in the behalf
of" or "for the purpose of!" Wow! (I think we've just
found a sermon in a preposition!)
Jesus is interceding "in my
place" before the Father! (Why not? He died in my place
didn't He? The "Just" for the unjust! 1st Peter 3:18)
Jesus is interceding "in the
interests of" you and me! He knows our needs and proper
concerns better than we ourselves do! He presents them to
the Father too!
Jesus is interceding "for the
purpose of" our maturity and development too! We have an
example of this in Luke 22. Jesus, interceding for Peter,
prayed that his faith would not fail during an upcoming trial!
Listen to our Lord: "But I have
prayed for thee (Peter), that thy faith fail not: and when thou
art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Luke 22:32
And as far as exactly WHAT
Jesus is praying for us as He intercedes, all we have to do is
study John chapter 17! Here is His longest recorded
prayer on earth! He is praying as our Intercessor there
too! He prays: that we would be kept safe, untouched
by the Devil! That we would be "one" in unity! That
we might have His Joy fulfilled in us! That we would be
sanctified! That we might be perfected (made mature)!
That we might go to be with Him (in Heaven) in God's time!
And that we might have God's very Love within us!
Amazing!
No wonder we are safe in
Jesus!
God does answer His beloved
Son's prayers!
Oh, dear Brothers and Sisters,
consider Him and His prayers for you today!
Think upon Him as your great
High Priest!
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the
Apostle and High Priest
of our profession, Christ Jesus!"
Hebrews 3:1
Yes!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 16:
