11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Commentary
Vs. 11 "And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins."
Under the Old Covenant the priests were required to daily stand before the altar and repeatedly offer the same sacrifices day by day, month by month, year after year which could never take away sins. Theirs was the duty then that offered neither them, nor those who they officiated on behalf of, no rest.
Vs. 12-13 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
In striking contrast then to the Old Covenant priests this Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, offered one sacrifice for sins forever. There is then no other sacrifice that God will accept for our sins. And having accomplished our eternal salvation, Jesus has also restored the order that placed mankind as the head of God's creation that was lost in garden when Adam sinned, and thus fell, and all of creation with him, and thus came under the domain of sin, Satan and death (consider Col 2:11-15). So Jesus having vanquished sin, Satan and death forever by His own death on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead, has sat down at the right hand of God, waiting till His enemies are made His footstool which will takes place just as the Scripture foretells. Therefore when God the Father finishes His Work in dealing with all of His enemies, He will set up His Son's Kingdom, a Kingdom which will have no end.
Vs. 14 "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Returning then to our standing with God, the Word of God now states that by one offering, the Lord Jesus Christ offering Himself on the Cross, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Now there are two key points that are being made in that highlighted statement. First is that we have been perfected forever, that is positionally before God the Father we have a perfect standing, which goes exceedingly far beyond being blameless which maybe attributed to ones own conduct before Him (i.e. Job in the sight of God, or the Apostle Paul according to the Law, or us as we obey the Gospel, Phil 2:14-17), which is excellent and virtuous and righteous but is not the same as being made perfect in the sight of God, which only God Himself can do for us (consider Phil. 3:3-11). Thus we who believe In Christ are now forever been perfected in the sight of God, this fact then is unalterable. Second is that we are being sanctified, that is there is the sanctification that gives us our perfect standing with God our Father (consider John 17:19; Acts 20:32; 26:18; 1 Cor 1:2; 6:9-11 etc.), then there is the process by which God is transforming our persons and lives to be like Christ's, that is what is meant by the phrase "those who are being sanctified."
Vs. 15-16 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”
The Word of God now reminds us that the Holy Spirit foretold of the New Covenant, and thus the end of the sacrificial system, when He through the prophet Jeremiah foretold of it, saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” (vs. 16). And so where as the law could only tell us what was righteousness and what was not, yet it had no inherit power to enable anyone to obey it, or even want to keep it, for that is something that only becomes a reality for us all who believe in Christ through the New Covenant, where God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ His Son and our Lord and Savior not only brings us into a reconciled relationship with Himself, but through His Spirit indwelling us He transforms our persons, bringing us to Spirit life and uniting us with Christ Himself making us into what the Apostle Paul calls new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), with new desires and never before longings and appetites for God 's righteousness revealed and proclaimed through His Word.
The Gospel then is not just a message of hope but one of transformation.
Vs. 17-18 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Not only then is the God's law and righteous decrees which lead to living a Godly and righteous life are now written on hearts and in our minds, but through the New Covenant which the Lord Jesus Christ ushered in by His broken body and shed blood on the Cross, God's Word Promise also states: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” vs. 17 And that is the remission of sins which the Gospel brings to everyone who repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 10:34-43), something which I urge you to do. "Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." vs. 18 Therefore the Word of God delivers a death blow to any notions of ever returning to the Law and it's sacrificial system as a means of atonement for sin. And not just the Law's sacrificial system, but every and any form of works by which one seeks to atone for their sins and transgressions, all of which is not counted as grace in the sight of God but debt (Rom. 4:4-5). Therefore I urge you be reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus Christ's finished work on the Cross for you, for when you do you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:28-30).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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