Message Seven

A Merciful, Faithful, and Great High Priest

Scripture Reading: Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14-15;
5:5, 10; 6:20; 7:26-28; 8:1

1. The basic significance of a priest in the Bible is not that a priest serves God but that a priest ministers God to man:
   1. The first mention of a priest in the Scriptures establishes the principle of a priest.
   2. The first time the word priest is used in the Bible is with Melchisedec—Gen. 14:18-20:
      1. The foundational story of the priesthood in the Bible is that of a priest coming from God and ministering something of God to God’s people:
         1. Melchisedec came from God and ministered something of God to Abraham.
         2. The bread and wine signify God being ministered to us to nourish, refresh, sustain, comfort, and strengthen us.
      2. The main point with respect to Christ as the High Priest is that He ministers God into us.
2. Hebrews is a book on the priesthood in its three aspects—Heb. 2:17; 5:6; 7:16, 25:
   1. The first aspect—the aspect of the Aaronic priesthood—is for offering sacrifices to God for our sins—Heb. 10:12:
      1. The Aaronic priesthood solves the problem of sin—Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 28.
      2. Christ put away sin by offering Himself to God as the one sacrifice for sins—Heb. 9:26; 10:10-12.
      3. The Aaronic priesthood was not part of God’s initial intention but was added later because of the problem of sin—Heb. 1:3; John 1:29; Rom. 8:3.
   2. The second aspect—the aspect of the kingly priesthood—is for ministering God into us— Heb. 5:10; 7:1-2:
      1. As a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec, Christ is the King of righteousness and the King of peace—Isa. 32:17; 9:6.
      2. Christ’s purifying of sins is typified by the work of Aaron, whereas His sitting down on the right hand of the Majesty on high is according to the order of Melchisedec—Psa. 110:1, 4; Heb. 1:3; 8:1.
      3. As the kingly High Priest, Christ ministers to us whatever we need, dispensing the processed and consummated Triune God into us as our supply to fulfill God’s eternal purpose.
   3. The third aspect—the aspect of the divine priesthood—is for saving us to the uttermost— Heb. 7:25:
      1. For Christ to be kingly is a matter of status, but for Christ to be divine is a matter of constituent, that is, of having the necessary element that constitutes Him a divine High Priest.
      2. Christ’s divinity constitutes Him a High Priest who is living, full of life, and able to continue His priesthood perpetually—Heb. 7:17, 24.
      3. The divine priesthood is the saving power of the indestructible life; thus, the divine priesthood is the presence of life and the absence of death—Heb. 7:16.
3. Christ is a merciful and faithful High Priest— Heb. 2:17:
   1. Hebrews 1 and 2 reveal that Christ is fully qualified to be our High Priest:
      1. He is the Son of God with the divine nature—1:8.
      2. He is the Son of man with the human nature—2:6, 9.
      3. He was incarnated to be like us—2:14, 17.
      4. He was tempted, tried—2:18.
      5. He suffered death—2:9.
      6. He made propitiation for our sins—2:17.
      7. He destroyed the devil—2:14.
      8. He released us from the slavery of death— 2:15.
      9. He brought forth many brothers in resurrection to form the church—2:11-12.
      10. He was crowed with glory and honor in His exaltation—2:9.
      11. He is the Captain of our salvation—2:10.
      12. He helps us—2:16.
   2. Christ is able to be a merciful and faithful High Priest because He is both the Son of God with divinity and the Son of man with humanity:
      1. His being merciful corresponds to His being a man.
      2. His being faithful corresponds to His being God.
      3. Christ’s divinity and humanity are typified by the gold and the linen in the ephod worn by the high priest—Exo. 28:6-14; 39:2-7:
         1. The weaving together of the gold and the linen in the ephod typifies the mingling of divinity and humanity in Christ.
         2. “There is a fabric in this universe woven with golden and linen thread and containing the five colors of golden yellow, pure white, blue, purple, and scarlet. This is the ephod that the Lord Jesus is wearing today. He is still clad in a garment made of gold and linen and with five beautiful colors expressing His divinity, humanity, heavenliness, kingliness, and redemption” (Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, p. 1372).
4. Christ is a great High Priest—Heb. 4:14-15:
   1. As our High Priest Christ is great in His person, in His work, and in His attainment—Heb. 1:5, 8; 2:6; 1:3; 2:9-10, 14-15, 17; 3:5-6; 4:8-9; 6:20; 9:24; 2:9.
   2. As our great High Priest Christ was tempted in all respects like us, He has passed through the heavens, and He sympathizes with our weaknesses—Heb. 4:14-15.
   3. As our great High Priest Christ bears us before God in the Holy of Holies—Heb. 9:24:
      1. In the Old Testament the high priest typifies Christ as our High Priest.
      2. Whenever the high priest went into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, he bore upon his shoulders and upon his breast the names of the children of Israel before God— Exo. 28:9-12, 15-30.
      3. Christ is our merciful, faithful, and great High Priest, and we are on His shoulders (His bearing strength) and on His heart (His love).
      4. As Christ bears us before God in the Holy of Holies, He ministers the processed and consummated Triune God into our being.
   4. We should respond to Christ’s priesthood by coming forward with boldness to the throne of grace—Heb. 4:16.