When we enter into the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus through a new and living way, we come forward to the throne of grace within the veil to receive mercy and find grace from the ascended Christ who is in the heavens (4:14, 16; 6:19-20). Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.” The throne of grace is undoubtedly the throne of God that is in heaven (Rev. 4:2). The throne of God is a throne of authority to the whole universe on which God sits to control and rule over the universe (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 5:1). It is the throne of God’s administration, but to us, the believers, it is the throne of grace, signified by the propitiation cover or mercy seat over the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies sprinkled with the blood of Christ (Rom. 3:25; Exo. 25:17, 21; Heb. 9:3, 5, 12; Lev. 16:15). It is here that God meets and communes with His people (Exo. 25:21-22).
Our spirit today is the dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:22); it is the gate of heaven where Christ as the ladder joins us on earth to heaven and brings heaven to us on earth. Whenever we turn to the spirit, we enter into the gate of heaven and touch the throne of grace in heaven through Christ the heavenly ladder. It takes no time to enter into the Holy of Holies because there is no distance between it and our spirit. In the Holy of Holies, we can touch the throne of grace, which is Christ as the propitiation place; this propitiation place covers the demands of the Ten Commandments and satisfies the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. To the believers this propitiation place is the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1).
When we come forward to the throne of grace, we receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Both God’s mercy and God’s grace are the expression of His love. When we are in a pitiful condition, His mercy reaches us and brings us into a situation where God is able to favor us with His grace. Luke 15:20-24 tells us that when the father saw the prodigal son returning, he had compassion on him; this mercy expressed the father’s love. Then the father clothed him with the best robe and fed him with the fattened calf; this grace manifested the father’s love. God’s mercy reaches farther and bridges the gap between us and God’s grace. Quite often, due to our pitiful condition, we need to receive mercy and then find grace.
God’s mercy and grace are always available to us. However, we need to receive mercy and find grace by exercising our spirit to come forward to the throne of grace and to touch our High Priest, who sympathizes with us in all our weaknesses. We need to come forward and open up our whole being to receive mercy and find grace for timely help. The help that comes from this grace is always timely, fitting our situation and need. According to the book of Hebrews, the real Christian life is one of coming forward to the throne of grace continually to receive mercy and find grace for timely help.
For the divine conformation, the believers enjoy the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the divine transformation not only by entering the Holy of Holies but also by following Jesus.
In John 21:19, after the Lord Jesus told Peter how he would die to glorify God, He said to him, “Follow Me.” The Lord Jesus wanted Peter to follow Him as the indwelling One. The One we are to follow is inside of us. Verse 18 also points out that we must not follow the Lord according to our own ideas but according to His leading. Our following Him, even unto death, glorifies God. Furthermore, we must follow Him without paying attention to others. After the Lord told Peter to follow Him, Peter referred to John and said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” (v. 21). To this, the Lord replied, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me” (v. 22). The Lord was telling Peter that what would happen to John was none of his concern; he must follow the Lord and not pay attention to others.