Yesterday morning, we began to consider the superiority of what has come in with this dispensation to that which belonged to the past.
We only made a beginning on this matter. And when we say that we made a beginning on the last but one day of the conference, it is quite evident that we are going to have twelve baskets full over when we finish.
So, really, we have not got into the heart of this letter to the Hebrews. And yet, I do not think we have to. There is so much more that could extend for a long time.
Perhaps that is how it ought to be. We do not want to come to an end. We want to feel that the land is a land of far distances.
This morning, we are going on a little way into that land: the land of the superiority of this dispensation over all past dispensations.
It may seem to some of you that I am repeating much of what I have already said, that we may go beyond this. Perhaps what the apostle says applies:
It is not irksome to me to write the same things to you, and for you it is safe.
Well now, let us come to this particular matter, for it is the supreme matter in the letter, which means that it is the supreme matter in the dispensation.
How much higher and fuller is what God has come in with in the Lord Jesus than ever came in in old times.
Now, you will have the letter to the Hebrews open before you. You will see that, right at the beginning, this is the dispensation of God’s Son. That is, it is the dispensation of God’s Son in a new personal manifestation.
We believe that He was present in the old dispensation and that He appeared to men in other forms. But this letter says that, in this dispensation, He has come in a new form.
So it begins with the manifested presence of God’s Son. It says that in the old dispensation men met God in portions and in different ways—“in divers portions and in divers manners.”
God met men, and men met God, in the prophets. Now, the prophets were the servants of God, and men met God through the servants of God.
In this dispensation, they meet God in God’s Son personally. There is a statement that God was in Christ. Son implies Father. The Son of God implies God the Father. So, in the Son, we meet God—not now in servants, but in the Son.
And this reaches absolute fullness in the matter of divine revelation:
For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell.
When a thing is full, there is no room for any more. You are pouring water into a vessel; when it is full, you say, “It is full. Do not put any more in.” It is just full.
It pleased the Father that in the Son should all the fullness dwell, and there is nothing more to be added.
Now, do not just take these as words. Do understand that in every fragment there is this truth: in the dispensation in which you and I are now living, God has come to us in all His fullness. There is no more to be added.
In His Son, we have the absolute fullness of God. It is out of that fullness that He speaks to us in His Son.
God has only one Son in that sense. It is His only begotten Son, and there is no other; which means that there is no one to come after Him.
Therefore, the last word is in His Son. The Son brings both the fullness of God and the finality of God.
It is that which gives solemnity to this whole letter. It says, if you fail to hear the voice of the Son, there is never another voice for you. God is never going to speak by another voice.
God has spoken in His Son, and He is never going to speak again by any other name. Hence, this letter contains this word of warning and this word of exhortation: because this is the fullness and this is the end, be sure that you give heed.
But it is not only God speaking in His Son. There is a way in which God speaks: God speaking is always God acting.
With the Lord Jesus, it is more than coming into touch with a teaching. It is coming into touch with a living, active Person. It is God with Whom we have to do.
It is a glorious thing to come into touch with God in Christ, but it says here that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
No, it is not a book. It is not a teaching. It is not a philosophy. It is a living, positive, powerful Person. It is no other than God in action.
If you have any doubt about that, just remember the book of Acts. It is called the Acts of the Apostles. Well, everybody knows that that is a wrong name.
Most of the apostles are never heard or seen in that book. They are mentioned at the beginning, and then you hear no more about them. It is not the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
It is the book of the acts of God in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. It is the book of the acts of God in Jesus Christ.
Well now, we go on to this next thing. The Son is introduced, He is presented, and then He is described. What a wonderful description there is of the Son.
But we ask, who is this Son? His name is not mentioned until you get into Hebrews 2:9. It is a Son without a name. Who is this Son?
Hebrews 2:9 tells us, for the first time, who the Son is:
But we behold Him Who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death.
It seems a very simple thing to say that Jesus is this Son, and this Son is Jesus. But perhaps you do not recognize a certain thing about this.
It is very rarely, after His resurrection and ascension, that He is called Jesus. When He has gone back to Heaven, He is usually “the Lord Jesus,” “Jesus Christ our Lord.” His full title is given Him when He is enthroned in Heaven.
If someone comes right back from that and just uses the title Jesus, you know that they are referring to His humiliation and the purpose of His humiliation. It has to do with His work on earth for our redemption.
So look at Hebrews 2:9 again:
We behold Him Who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death.
The name Jesus is the name of the One Who suffered death, Who tasted death for every man. And it was the Son of God Who did that. It was the Son of God Who, as Jesus, tasted death for every man because of the suffering of death.
That is the Son Who is introduced here. He is identified by His name, Jesus.
And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins.
Then the next thing is the position and function of the Son. Think at the beginning again:
God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds.
This Son, known to us as Jesus, by God’s appointment is the heir of all things. All things are to come to Him by right of God’s appointment.
Please do not be weary with me. This is one of the first things said about the dispensation in which you and I live.
It does not look very much like it now. “We do not yet see all things subjected unto Him.” But it says here emphatically, right at the beginning, that He is heir of all things.
Therefore, everything has got to come to Him in the end. God is going to sum up all things in Christ—things in Heaven and things on earth. He is appointed heir of all things.
If we were speaking in human language, there was somewhere in past eternity an occasion when the Godhead had a conference to discuss the future—everything that was going to be made.
And the Father said, “I make My Son the heir of all things. I appoint Him My heir, and I decree that all things, in the end, shall come into His possession.”
Now, you are dealing with almighty and eternal God. When He decides a thing like that, it is settled. He appointed the Son heir of all things.
But He did not leave it there. He turned to the Son—this is our way of speaking—and He said, “Now, My Son, I am going to use You as the agent in making all this.”
“Through Whom also He made the worlds.” This Son, Whom we know as our Savior and Lord, was God’s agent in the creation of the world.
There is another thing, and this is, of course, something so difficult to understand: this Son upholds all things by the word of His power.
Things do not collapse because He is holding all things by the word of His power. Things will not collapse until He says they should collapse.
If this is true, it is something very wonderful for us. We are hearing so much about the disintegration of the universe, the blowing to pieces of this world. A lot of people are getting very frightened about this.
But if this is true, the universe and the world can never go to pieces until Jesus says so. Men may get very near doing it, but it just does not happen. It has got like that several times, but the word of His power has stopped it.
Until He says, “Now, go,” He upholds all things by the word of His power.
Maybe we go as far as to say that this could be our personal comfort. Sometimes it seems that our own personal little world is going to pieces. We have come to the end of our little world.
He will hold things together until He wants them to go to pieces.
This is the Son identified. This is the Son described. Then we move on into the larger body of the letter: the Son’s greatness by comparison with other great things and people.
“Having become by so much better than the angels.” Indeed, that is the next highest thing to God and the Son: the angels.
Oh, there is so much said about angels in the Bible. Peter says, “Angels, though greater in might and power.”
In the book of Judges, the angel is said to have had a very striking appearance. His face was frightful to behold. The person who saw him was afraid that they were going to die.
They said, “We have beheld the angel of the Lord. His face was like unto an angel.” Judges 13:6, if you want the reference.
The angels have a very vast knowledge. Jesus said:
But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven.
Their knowledge is so full and so great, and yet even the angels do not know this.
The angels have a vast knowledge. There is an overwhelming number of angels:
And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.
That is spoken of angels. They are a vast number. These beings are very near to the throne of God. They have access into the presence of God.
That comes out in one of the beautiful things that Jesus said about little children. He says, “You must not offend one of the little ones.”
For I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father Who is in heaven.
We do not understand this; it is something very mysterious. But Jesus says the angels have access to the throne of God. They are very near to God.
There is only One Who is nearer to God than the angels.
The work of the angels is very various. Look again, because we are keeping very close to Hebrews. Hebrews 1:13 says:
But of which of the angels hath He said at any time,
Sit thou on My right hand,
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?
Then it says:
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?
A lot of work they have to do—all over the world, in every generation. This says that the angels have got to look after the heirs of salvation and to look after their interests.
Well, of course, we do not see them. But if the Bible is true, they are there, and they are very busy people. They have very much service to perform. All the various needs of these heirs of salvation are their concern.
So, the angels are a very high order. But in this letter, the Lord is saying, “But the Son is far greater than this.”
He hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
Therefore, “having become by so much better than the angels.” If you read all that there is about angels in the Bible, you will have a very wonderful revelation. Then you come to this fragment: “So much better than the angels.”
That is where the superiority begins. We, dear friends, have come into the dispensation of the superiority of Jesus to all the angels.
Perhaps we have not made enough of the ministry of the angels. But evidently they are very busy for us. Perhaps many, many things from which we are saved are because they were very watchful.
Well, we begin with the angels, and then we go on with Moses. You will notice what it says here:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus;
Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also was Moses in all His house.
For He hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.
Get hold of that phrase: more honor than Moses.
Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken;
But Christ as a Son, over His house.
The writer is saying, “We are not going to take anything away from Moses. We give Moses honor as a great servant of God.” But Christ is greater. The Son is greater than Moses.
Abraham was the father of the nation. Moses was the builder and constitutor of the nation. What a large place Moses has in history.
Not only had he a very large place in Israel, but he had a large place in the world. Many of the best legal systems in this world are based upon the economy of Moses.
Because through Moses it was said:
Thou shalt not kill.
We have all the police forces in the world because of “Thou shalt not kill.” I wish we had a few more forces in relation to some other things that Moses said.
The point is, Moses has come to have a very large place in history. The Jews in Christ’s day always appealed to Moses as the final authority in anything.
Their charge against Jesus was that He made Himself greater than Moses. They believed that there was no one greater than Moses.
Now this writer of the letter to the Hebrews, with great boldness, says, “But there is One greater than Moses.” Moses—all the honor that is due to him—but the Son is greater than Moses.
Then he goes on to speak of Aaron. Aaron was the first high priest, and being high priest, he was the representative of the whole priestly system. He was over all the other priests and Levites.
Aaron was over all the sacrifices. Aaron was over the whole sanctuary. Aaron went in alone to the place of the Most Holy. No one but Aaron was ever allowed to go into the Holy of Holies.
The writer here is saying that the Son is greater than Aaron—far greater than Aaron. And he tells us why: Aaron died.
Anybody who dies never makes anything perfect. When he dies, he has to leave something unfinished. The writer is saying, Aaron died; therefore, his work was not perfect. Death cut across it. It was never finished.
There had to become a lot of other high priests to try and carry it on—many more priests, many more sacrifices—all being added to try and make this thing perfect.
Hebrews 9 tells us that it never did make anything perfect. All the priests and all the sacrifices never made anything perfect.
This is the wonderful thing that the letter says: many high priests, thousands of priests, millions of sacrifices, rivers of blood, and never bringing anything to perfection.
And then the Son: one Priest forever, a Priest Who will never die. Therefore, His work will never be cut short. We have one Priest forever.
That wonderful paragraph about Melchizedek comes in. Everybody wonders who Melchizedek was. You can go to the Bible, and you will never find the answer. You will certainly not find the answer outside of the Bible.
This mysterious man comes in from nowhere, and there he goes to no one knows where. He has neither beginning nor end—that is, so far as the record is concerned.
That is taken up as illustrating the Lord Jesus as the High Priest: neither beginning of days nor end of life. He is an eternal High Priest.
I like to see that High Priest in John 13: rising from supper, taking the priestly girdle—the towel—and going through the priestly labor.
You remember the laver in the tabernacle, do you not? It was as though this One went to the laver, filled the basin with water, took the towel, and washed the disciples’ feet. A symbolic act of cleansing.
It is the High Priest doing it. And it is very beautiful, because over that incident there are written these words:
Having loved His own that were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
That “end” is not in time. If eternity ever ends, that is where it is. He loved them with an everlasting love.
There is the High Priest. He is a High Priest greater than Aaron, Who ever lives—Who lives forever—to make intercession.
That is what it says here. And then, with one sacrifice forever. They used millions of sacrifices and never made anything perfect. He, with only one sacrifice, has done it forever.
And He was the sacrifice as well as the Priest. As Priest, He offered Himself without blemish unto God.
Better than Moses. Better than Aaron. Do you know why God put those two men together? They were brothers, but they were very different brothers. Yet they had to live together and work together.
What was the difference? Moses was the governor. Moses represented government and authority. What came through Moses was, “Thou shalt,” and, “Thou shalt not.” Moses governed Israel. Moses exercised authority.
Aaron was the man of love, the man of sympathy. Priesthood means love and sympathy: love for the poor sinner, love for the poor sinning world, sympathy with men.
God puts these two things together. It would not do to have all of one. It would never do to have only an autocrat. You must unite with government and authority a heart of compassion.
If you get those two things put together, you have a very good Israel. Now here it is: Jesus, the Son, is better than Moses and better than Aaron.
On the one side, He can say:
All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth.
And the Father says:
Sit Thou on My right hand,
Till I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet.
Here are two wonderful pictures. The one is that of Jesus, crowned with glory and honor, having sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, waiting for His enemies to be made the footstool of His feet.
With all authority in His hands, He is in the place of government. Alongside of that is the other beautiful picture:
We have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Not only authority and government, but love and sympathy.
Yes, His authority is a greater authority than that of Moses. His government is a greater government than ever Moses exercised. But His sympathy and His love are far greater than that of Aaron.
I think you may have had enough this morning. I have not finished with the superiority of the Son. We have not touched His work—the work of making purification for sins. But you can read it.
I am afraid that is where we have got to stop this conference. Perhaps it is just like a window opened into the heavens.
If you get the right window, you can see quite a lot. You can see great things. You can see part of it. The best that I can hope is that it has just opened a window.
As you look through this window, you are seeing one thing: how superior is Jesus Christ to all else—superior to the angels, superior to Moses, superior to Aaron—and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come.
How superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before. This is not just a conference subject.
The one thing that I am strongly convinced of is that, if we are getting near to the end of this dispensation—and many others believe that we are—the one thing that is needed to be known is the greatness of Christ.
This is the thing that God will emphasize at the end. All other things are going to prove to be very small. All other things are going to pass away. But Jesus is greater than all. He will abide forever.
That will be the only strength of God’s people in the end time. So, more than being just a subject for a conference, it is God’s message in the day in which we live.
Dr. A. B. Simpson, to whom I referred last night, said over fifty years ago, “I believe that the last movement in this dispensation will be a movement back to Jesus Christ.”
I am satisfied the Lord has led us to consider Jesus Christ. You can take it from me, dear friends, that you are going to need this Christ. You are going to need to know how much greater He is than all other things.