Our High Priest

The epistolist writes of one offering of perfection, an offering par excellence, an offering that is absolutely sufficient of itself to consummate the everlasting covenant of Jehovah’s grace. The epistolist writes of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ our high priest.

Indeed, Jesus Christ is high priest. High priest is his eternally appointed office by the decree of Jehovah God. As eternally beloved and begotten of God, he was elected unto a most honorable and glorious position—the servant of Jehovah. The Father loves his appointed servant, declaring, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth” (Isa. 42:1). And this servant delights in his appointment: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2:7).

No man may take this position of honor and glory unto himself but he who is called of God. You and I were not called and ordained to this office. We were not appointed by God to realize his covenant with us. Nor may we intrude ourselves into the place that was given to Jesus Christ. For the moment, let’s imagine that we could diligently labor and offer ourselves to God as an offering without spot or blemish. Having done all that his holy law demands, if we were to come unto God to present ourselves and to request his covenant blessings, his response would be, “Who required this of thee? I have given my Son for this office. You despise my appointment of him as high priest!” God the Father elected his Son Jesus Christ unto this honor and glory.

As the one possessing this high priestly office, Jesus Christ is authorized and qualified to function in the name of God and to serve God in behalf of God’s covenant.

He who authorizes and qualifies is the Spirit. “I have put my spirit upon him,” declares the Father (Isa. 42:1). “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,” proclaims the righteous servant (Isa. 61:1). And upon Jesus Christ the high priest was the Spirit poured without measure.

Just as you and I were not appointed to the office of high priest, neither are we qualified for such a work. Possessing the Spirit without measure would simply consume us mere men. But our high priest is not a mere man. He is almighty God in our flesh. And in the power of the eternal Spirit—the Lord Almighty—Christ performed all his work and gave himself as an offering of a sweet savor unto his Father.

Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Who gives this offering? The triune God provides this one offering of perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ. All things are of and through and unto God. The works outside of his own triune life are indivisible.

This elect and anointed officer functions in the name of God and serves God in behalf of God’s covenant as high priest.

What is the essence of priestly work? This: to sanctify. The high priest consecrates himself and all things to the living and holy God. Particularly, the text teaches that the high priest sanctifies a people. “Them that are sanctified” are carried by him very near unto God—yea, into God’s own heavenly sanctuary—for covenant fellowship.

Behold those articles borne into God’s holy presence by the high priest. Upon his shoulders were two stones, and hanging over his chest was the breastplate. In onyx were inscribed the names of the children of Israel. Over his heart laid the church as precious jewels. Wherever he went, he carried with him an elect people whom he represented. Just as he is their high priest, so also is he their head.

Thus in the ascending of our high priest far above all heavens, we now sit together in heavenly places before the face of God. And there in Jehovah’s presence we remain forever. The realization of God’s covenant! The heart of Christ’s high priestly work is to consummate God’s everlasting covenant of grace. A most honorable and glorious office is his.

Them That Are Sanctified

Into Jehovah’s house, the beauty of holiness, entered this high priest as the head and representative of a sanctified people. “Them that are sanctified”—a wondrous and gracious description!

For who are these people?

They are those who in themselves are crooked and perverse. They have no right of access unto the living and holy God. Having transgressed the covenant of God in their first high priest and head Adam, they do not belong to the household of Jehovah. They belong to the household of Satan. They are sold under sin and death. Their rightful dwelling place is the fiery furnace of hell, wherein is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Under the verdict of God’s holy law, they deserve not the blessing and fullness and fatness of God’s table, but they deserve the cursing and emptiness and famine of outer darkness.

Furthermore, setting aside for the moment this right of access unto God—but not ignoring it—it must be said that these people possess a polluted and vile nature. Their entire being conflicts with the purity of God’s sanctuary. His house is clean and without spot. But they are filthy from their skin to the core of their existence. His house smells pleasant, scented with the sweet fragrance of life. But to them belongs an aroma of death. The corruption of their nature has the repulsive stench of decay. His house resounds in glorious harmony to the praise of his perfect righteousness. But their being is a nauseating cacophony of wickedness.

Furthermore, setting aside this polluted nature for the moment—but not ignoring it—it must be said that if these people were to come before God’s majesty and not ceaselessly give unto him what is rightfully his—namely, perfect love with every power and ability that they possess—then he may not suffer them a moment longer. As the righteous God, nothing less than perfect righteousness is due unto him. Those who withhold righteousness from him are wicked and rebellious and must be consumed by the holy fire of jealousy for his name. But these are a people who, being inflicted with the disease of original sin, are incapable of withholding their filth.

Them that are sanctified? These are not a holy people but defiled!

Imagine a filthy sow bursting through your front door to wipe her slop on your white carpet and to root around in your pantry with her grimy snout. What is more, she has a stomach bug and spews out from both ends. Imagine a man of the stock of Adam intruding himself into God’s house…

Yet that is not what the epistolist says about them. They are sanctified! They are without spot or blemish and brought nigh unto the holy, holy, holy one to dwell with him forever in covenant love. Wondrous and gracious words!

They are sanctified by the one offering of the high priest, Jesus Christ. For those whom he bears upon his shoulders and whose judgment rests upon his heart, he gives a vicarious offering that they may be sanctified.

He does not labor for all men. His high priestly work is strictly particular. His offering is in behalf of those who belong to God’s covenant according to an election of grace. The Old Testament high priest did not bear upon his shoulders the name of every man under heaven but only the names of those who belonged to Israel. And why were those names etched in the two stones upon his shoulders? Because those names were written in the eternal registers of God’s kingdom from before the foundation of the world. Note that the names of the elect were not inscribed into wax tablets! They were etched into onyx. They were forever borne by their priest because of the unchangeable, eternal reality of God’s decree. The high priest, Jesus Christ, performs his duties for his elect and for them alone.

A Perfect-Complete Offering

His offering for his elect is one. “By one offering he hath perfected…”

One person gave this offering. That one person was the divine and eternally begotten Son of God. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.

For this one offering God equipped his righteous servant with a body. “When he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Heb. 10:5). The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

This “body” should be understood as a true and complete human nature. Christ had both a body and a soul. His mind and will were human. He possessed human rationality and affections. “In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.” For since the soul was lost as well as the body, it was necessary that he should take both upon himself to save both. God ordained for Jesus Christ an individual human nature, drawn from Mary his mother, out of the line of David. The body that he possessed also had a weakened human nature. Being able to experience pain in body and soul, he truly suffered the consequence of the fall.

Yet this body was sinless. Adam was not Jesus’ head because the person of Jesus Christ is divine. The person is the eternal Logos, who is ever with God and who is God. Original sin cannot be imputed unto him whose person comes from above the heavens. And being free from condemnation in Adam, Jesus was not tainted by human corruption and pollution. Moreover, God so prepared this body in the tomb of the virgin’s womb without the means of man, so that he was conceived and born a holy thing.

This was the body that was prepared for Jesus Christ. This was the body that he offered.

The offering of Jesus’ body constituted the whole of his existence. That is the oneness of this offering too. You must understand that this one offering was the whole life of Jesus Christ. All that transpired from his conception in the womb of Mary to his death on the cross was one act of service and obedience.

And Jesus did not go through his life as an isolated individual. Rather, in everything that he did, he did it as the representative and head of his people. He bore for his whole life the curse due for his people’s sins. Their guilt was always upon him. He suffered his whole life long in their behalf. And all of his love toward God was in their stead.

This one offering culminated in our high priest’s sacrifice on the cross. The entire life of Jesus Christ was priestly service under the shadow of the cross. Only there can the curse be removed. Only there can sin be expiated. Only there can he give to God the perfect payment for sin that God was owed. Consequently, only there can the greatest expression of love unto God be rendered. Bearing the sins and guilt of his people and loving his Father to the end, Christ’s service must lead to that altar. And there he gave this offering.

One lifelong act of obedience unto death by one person.

And because the one who gave this offering was God, this sacrifice was of infinite value. His divine person ascribed infinite worth to his work. All of his suffering was an infinite retribution to the divine justice of God. All of his obedience was the obtaining of infinite righteousness before God. That is why one offering could perfect.

Indeed, his offering did perfect. “For by one offering he hath perfected…”

The meaning of that verb hath perfected means to bring to completion. By these words the text sings of the eternal good pleasure of Jehovah God. God willed this one offering. For Christ says in verses 6–7, “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” It was the desire to perfect this will of God that consumed our high priest during his entire earthly ministry.

And by these words “hath perfected,” the text shows that you and I are sanctified for a purpose. What is the purpose of God according to which he willed this one offering? “Let my name and covenant be glorified. Let it be glorified in this highest possible sense and to the greatest possible degree.” God is wise, just, good, and the over-flowing fountain of all good. And he will have all men know his glory.

More specifically, the purpose of God was to bring a people unto himself by his own right hand and his mighty arm; to effectually draw a people out of their death and alienation from him unto life and intimate fellowship with him; to save them by grace alone; to manifest his righteousness and covenant mercies by showing forth vessels of mercy in that great and final day.

And God brought his own good pleasure to completion. He did. He did through his elect servant, Jesus Christ. For nothing less is in harmony with the living God, who lacks nothing and who possesses all things in himself, to perfect the works of his hands. As he is in himself, so he is in all that he does. All his works reflect his glory. This offering must be perfected by him alone.

This offering is perfect apart from the willing and doing of man. God needs no man to enrich his triune covenant life. God needs the counsel of no other being to determine the end and course of history. And God needs the aid of no creature to perfect his work.

Where was man in God’s work of creation, when he called forth all things out of nothing? when he set the firmament in its place? when he individually named the multitude of stars, bringing them into existence? when every fish and fowl and beast and creeping thing were given their being? Man was yet in the dust. God completed his work of creation.

So too in all of God’s works. Is he not one? “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4). His works are perfect-complete. His works are always and only perfect-complete. Our God is one.

What was needed to perfect the sanctification of men in Adam? Redemption. We must be purchased from our slavery to sin and Satan and delivered from the sentence of death, rendering to God what God is due for our transgressional debt. Atonement and propitiation. Our sins must be covered, satisfying the wrath of God that justly belongs upon us on account of our sins. Reconciliation. We, who are by nature deserving of God’s curse, must be made the proper objects of his love and favor. Remission. All our wickedness recorded in the judge’s ledger—the handwriting of ordinances that is against us—must be purged.

And God gave such an offering through the mediator, Jesus Christ. He is the one who has perfected redemption. He is the one who has perfected atonement. He is the one who has perfected satisfaction to God on account of man’s sin. God is the one who purged away sins by his Son’s blood. He is the self-sufficient God who made satisfaction for himself.

Heed the testimony that this one offering is perfect-
complete!

The testimony of this offering’s perfection is that there is no more sacrifice for sins. Where remission of sin and iniquity is, there is no more offering. Furthermore, the testimony of this offering’s perfection is that Christ sat down at the right hand of majesty, henceforth expecting his enemies to be made his footstool. Christ ascended into the heavenly sanctuary and presented himself as the Lamb that had been slain. If that offering had not perfected, if that offering had left any sin remaining, if that offering had left undone any righteousness, if that offering had not purely consecrated to God with fervent love, then God could not receive Jesus Christ into his house. But now has he entered once. And there he remains, continually interceding for us and presenting himself as the Lamb that was slain. And smelling the sweet savor of his Son’s sacrifice, God receives us in covenant fellowship through our head.

The Despising of This One Offering

Who would contend against this truth?

Men would.

Men do.

The Jews did. They forsook the true temple of God and crucified Christ. Then they continued with the sacrificial service in the temple, despising the fulfillment and perfection of the old types. They brought their bullocks and goats, which had never perfected anyone for over a millennium. They made daily offerings for sin, even though God had manifested the way of reconciliation. And in AD 70 God visited them in his wrath, crushing their idols and stamping out their vain worship.

Yet that contending against Christ’s one offering is always present in the church. There will always be men who hate its perfection and cling to their works as those things which bring covenant life to perfection. 

“The more you embrace God, the more you feel the love of his embrace,” they say. That’s clever. That’s devilishly cunning. By such a doctrine you can appeal to the hearts and emotions of children and parents. “Don’t you feel closer to your father when you sit on his lap and give him a big hug? So it is with your heavenly Father!”

But, I retort, where is Christ in your analogy? Apparently, he sits on the other side of the room, just watching. Rather, Christ is your fellowship with your heavenly Father. He stands as your high priest in the heavens. He presents himself to God as the Lamb that was slain, petitioning God to receive you in him. And in him God has fellowship with you. What you do isn’t your fellowship with God. Christ is.

So arrogant are such men who despise the perfection of this one offering that they actually stand before Christ and assert, “Have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22). Or this: “Have we not repented?”

Truly, repentance is a wonderful work. Repentance is the greatest thing that a man can do. There is more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine just men who need no repentance. But there are men who dare approach the cross of Jesus Christ—the place where he gave one offering of perfection—and say, “I have repented.” Then they look around at others who are gathered at the cross—those who have counted their repentance as dung—and ask condescendingly, “Why are you here?”

Such men are not partakers of this offering.

Nay, Christ’s labor was for the ungodly. His offering was for those who have nothing in themselves to give unto God. These are the sanctified who have access unto God. They have access to God solely because of the offering of their head. And their experience is this: God is my salvation.

The doctrine of this text explains the necessity for the existence of the Reformed Protestant Churches.

It was taught in our former denomination, “If a man would be saved, there is that which he must do.”² Another takes a less direct approach, claiming, “There is a vitally important sense in which, in our salvation, our drawing nigh to God precedes God’s drawing nigh to us.”³

Such doctrine proceeds not from the truth that Christ’s offering on the cross was perfect-complete. If something is completed, there remains nothing left to be done. If those who are sanctified have been perfected forever, then every blessing of heaven and every experience of salvation flow powerfully out of this offering without the cooperation of man. The one who makes complete is God in Christ. Them that are sanctified are the objects of God’s handiwork. They are passive in this completion! They are passive in being brought nigh unto the holy and living God.

Passive? Passive sanctification? How dare one speak this way!

Yet the Spirit’s grammar is clear and explicit: “Them that are sanctified.” Them that are being brought nigh unto God.

You don’t bring yourself unto God. He carries you into his presence. He seats you at his table. He gives you rest under the covering of his sanctuary. And it is right for him to do this by virtue of the one offering that he has provided through his righteous and elect servant.

Where is the activity of man? Here: that, after being seated in the presence of the living and holy God and filled with his riches, the redeemed offer the fruit of their thankful lips unto their covenant Lord and friend. Salvation’s joyful song is heard where’er the righteous dwell.

The Power

Perfected. Forever!

You can understand the everlasting power of Christ’s one offering this way, speaking foolishly: if in heaven God saw you apart from Christ for one moment, you would again be in your guilt and cast off forever. Only in continual communion with this one offering of perfection is there power of everlasting sanctification. But for them that are sanctified to be separated from their high priest is impossible. They belong to him by the irrevocable decree of him who is faithful and true.

Perfected forever—here is your blessed assurance that you are and forever shall remain a living member of Christ’s body and church! Here is the truth that God, who is rich in mercy according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not permit his people to continue in sin and perish finally in their backslidings. With respect to this one offering that has perfected forever, it is utterly impossible that you should not be certainly and effectually renewed unto repentance, to a sincere and godly sorrow for your sins. It is utterly impossible that you should not seek and receive remission in the blood of the mediator. It is utterly impossible that you should not experience the favor of a reconciled God. It is utterly impossible that you should not at last inherit eternal life.

Truly, this offering is an offering par excellence.

The Old Testament Shadow

The perfection and oneness of Christ’s offering as our high priest stands over against all of the offerings given in the old dispensation of the covenant.

Those sacrifices were not one.

The number of sacrifices offered on the brazen altar were incalculable. There were morning and evening sacrifices offered daily. There were additional sacrifices offered on the sabbaths and on the feast days and on the new moons. Then there were different kinds of sacrifices: burnt, peace, meat, sin, and trespass offerings. There were sacrifices for transgressions, for vows, for purifications, for thanksgiving. And all those were given over and over and over again. If you brought an offering for sin, and you left the tabernacle and committed the sin again, then you had to bring another offering. If you were defiled by a dead body and brought an offering for cleansing, but leaving the tabernacle you touched another dead body, then you had to repeat the sacrifice.

Continuous was the offering of sacrifices under the law. They could not stop being offered. Morning and evening. Sabbaths and new moons and feast days. Year by year. For a millennium and more.

But that is not all.

There was not one man who stood as priest for all those sacrifices. There were many. Generation upon generation went by. Aaron was succeeded by his son and his son’s son and so on throughout the law and the prophets. A hundred high priests or more were needed to continue that ministry. And beside them, there were the thousands of priests and Levites who aided the high priests with the sacrifices.

Not one.

Neither could the old dispensation of the covenant perfect anything.

Blood was spilled continually. Morning and evening. Day after day. Year upon year. And on the great feast days, the streets of Jerusalem ran red. Yet in all those sacrifices there was no perfection.

Yes, in all those things there was the shadow of good things to come. But all those things were not Christ’s one offering of perfection. There was no intrinsic power of sanctifying the people in the blood of bulls and goats. The evidence is that if those sacrifices had perfected anything, then they would have ceased needing to be offered. But in all those sacrifices there was only the remembrance of sin.

Consider the pinnacle or heart of the sacrificial system, the great day of atonement. On that day atonement was made for all the people, and the precious expiating blood was carried all the way into the innermost part of the sanctuary to be sprinkled upon the covering of the ark. On that day two goats were presented before God. Sins were transferred to them by the laying on of the high priest’s hands. The first goat was offered upon the altar, and the other—a complementary picture to the first goat that was sacrificed—was led outside of the camp into the wilderness. By sacrifice sin was removed from the camp of Jehovah. Yet after all those things, the Israelite who went home in the evening from the courts of the tabernacle thought to himself, “We will need to do the exact same thing next year.” There was no power in the sacrifices of animals to remove sins and sanctify a people once for all.

Yet, as those who partake of the new and better dispensation of God’s covenant, we may learn much about Christ’s one offering of perfection through a study of the sacrificial system that God gave to Moses.

The sacrifices of the old dispensation were the shadow of the body of Jesus Christ. He stood in his appointed place in history, revealed in the fullness of time according to the counsel and wisdom of God. And the glory of God ready to be revealed in him cast a shadow over the entire Old Testament. Those sacrifices were not the very image of him who has come, yet they were certainly figures of the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Those sacrifices were patterned after eternal and glorious realities that stand in the heavens.

Therefore, there is much that these sacrifices can teach us about the nature of our Lord’s work as high priest. Their testimony confirms us in the doctrine of the holy gospel. To demonstrate this, I will work through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament in a series of coming articles, the Lord willing.