Through the better sacrifices of Christ, we have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies (9:23; 10:19). It is not a small thing to enter the Holy of Holies, for there the very God is sitting on the throne of grace. In order to enter into such a place we must have boldness, and we have it by Christ’s death and by His blood. By the Lord’s death and His blood we have the boldness to enter the Holy of Holies at any time we want to, unlike the high priest in the Old Testament, who could only enter into it once a year.
Verse 21 says that we have “a great Priest over the house of God.” This is deep. We have seen that we are the house of God (3:6). But if we are in the outer court, we do not have the right position to be the house of God. In order to be the house of God we must come forward to the Holy of Holies, because it is only there that Christ, our High Priest, takes care of the house of God. Since the Holy of Holies is joined to our spirit, we can only be the house of God when we are in our spirit. If we would turn from our spirit to our flesh, we would no longer be the house of God but a house of scorpions and snakes. When Christians fight and argue with one another, they are not the church, the house of God; they are scorpions and snakes. Although they may be saved, they do not live in the saved life but in the scorpion life. According to Ephesians 2:22, the house of God is in the spirit. If we live like scorpions, we could never enjoy Christ’s presence. Only in the Holy of Holies in the spirit does Christ, our High Priest, take care of the house of God.
Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies (v. 22), that is, to the new covenant dispensation. The Holy of Holies not only denotes a place, but also means a covenant, an age, and a dispensation. In chapter nine we saw clearly that the tabernacle was not merely a place but also the symbol of a covenant and an age. The call to come forward to the Holy of Holies includes coming forward to the new covenant and to the new covenant age. We must come to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our body washed with pure water. For us to come forward to the Holy of Holies, our heart must be true, our faith must be with full assurance, our conscience must be sprinkled, and our whole being must be washed. We should not consider this as a light thing. We must be very serious in this matter.
“Our hope” (v. 23) refers to Christ and to all we shall partake of in Him. He is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27). The redemption of our body, which He will accomplish at the time of His second appearing, is also our hope. Even now, He, as our indestructible life, is our hope, regardless of our situation. As our High Priest with the more excellent ministry of His kingly and divine priesthood, He is our hope in our daily life. By His intercession on our behalf He takes care of us and is able to save us to the uttermost. This is what we believe. This is our confession. We must hold fast this confession without any wavering of our faith so that we might come forward to enter into the Holy of Holies to enjoy the heavenly Christ.
For the proper church life, we need to consider one another (v. 24). To be isolated from others is to commit suicide in the church life. To consider one another is to increase life in inciting to love and good works. Good works here and in 13:21 are the good things which, in the eyes of God, are mainly related to the fulfillment of His purpose. If we consider one another in this way, we shall be kept in the church life.