Text: Hebrews 1
The book of Hebrews is a wonderful picture of what we cannot physically see, as yet. Although this event of the sitting of our Lord on the throne could not be seen by us, it had been prophesied over and over in the Old Testament. The beginning of the gospel in Acts of Apostles also acknowledged His seated position at the right hand of the Majesty on High. This chapter both paints the position of Jesus and separated Him from other dominions. It showed us that whereas these thrones are heavenly, the throne of our Lord is more heavenly.
The angels the Lord is compared with (in Hebrews 1) are the highest class of angels; yet, our Lord was exalted much higher than they are. This is why God said to Him what He never said to any of the angels. He is both better than the angels and has obtained a far more excellent name than them because His dominion is the God-kind of dominion. Jesus came into the sphere of God’s authority and dominion, which no creature can access.
Although the angels that our Lord is compared to have excellent names, the Lord has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name (Ps. 103:20, Heb. 1:4). Their names are excellent because they “excel in strength” (Psalm 103). What made Jesus’ name superior is the inheritance He came into. The energy men use in securing inheritance shows how much men value things that are theirs by inheritance. Oftentimes, men do not know that their true inheritance is not what they fight for in Law courts but the nature of the parents that the children have inherited. Every parent is inherited by their children.
The greatest inheritance of a child is the gene of his/her father. Both wisdom and foolishness can be imparted by inheritance. The gene of a father is a greater inheritance than any property that can be bequeathed to a child. The reason we have to take the issue of inheritance seriously is because of our adversary. The adversary battles with us because he wants to prove that we do not deserve to inherit that which has been given to us. The final arbiter of this battle is man, who will end up choosing whose inheritance will remain with him.
We will not win this battle until we prove that we value this inheritance more than our lives. This is because the inheritance is also a kind of life. Just like it was in the days of Job, we must war with Satan until he leaves us. He did not leave Job because Job rebuked him; No! He left because there was nothing more he could use against Job. This is true spiritual warfare. Potent weapons against Satan are patience and longsuffering. This patience is what is called the “patience of the Kingdom” (Rev. 1:9).
The contention over Job was to prove whether or not his soul had become dust. For this, Job was put through things that men whose souls had become dust could not survive but he survived. Satan, in conjunction with evil spirits, had worked on men to be light such that they cannot wait or be patient for God. A man who cannot wait for God has no weight in his soul.
It is possible to have an inheritance and still lose it. For instance, Esau was the firstborn who was destined, by birth, to inherit Isaac; a lot that was not Jacob’s. The former had the birthright while the latter had porridge. At the end, there was an exchange. Although the inheritance was Esau’s by birth, he had not yet inherited it. You must be wary of things that are waiting to take your place. Consider Judas, for instance. His apostleship was an earthly token of his eternal lot. When he made a mess of it, he lost his place eternally.
The major purpose of Jesus’ sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high is to divide portions of eternal inheritance for His brethren. That is why God said to Him, “...therefore God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Heb. 1). The fellows referred to here are His “brethren”. The entire chapter 1 of the book of Hebrews is about inheritance and chapter 2 is a continuation of the discourse.
The essence of Hebrews 1 is not to just show us or show off what Jesus became after He had obeyed God because the Godhead does not invest in emptiness. After the Lord had been seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, He was given the responsibility of raising His brethren to His own pedigree. The right hand position of God, though a gift, was not desired by the Lord for a selfish reason. He wanted it so that through it, He would see many saints sit with Him on God’s throne. Jesus being the first-begotten shows that there will be other believers who will become begotten the same way He was.
We must understand that although we are born again, we have not entered glory. God will never glorify a child because he does not have the demeanor or capacity for glory. The ordination of Christ Jesus as our High Priest is to make attaining the inheritance sure to the saints. No one can take or come into this inheritance by sheer will; it has to be by the operation of mercy. The enthronement of our Lord Jesus at the right hand of the Majesty is mercy revealed to us. This is why running the Christian race without the Son in view is disobeying divine order.
The only man that God will glorify is he who has been taught by the Lord to hate this world. God will not glorify any man who loves the world. The “all things” of God can only be appreciated by Christ. This is why the Rapture has not occurred. We have many babies in church who do not appreciate what God is doing. As much as we have believers who have given up on the lofty dream of God to have men embody His life on earth, God has not changed His mind. God desires to have the victory of Christ fleshed out in men on earth. The attraction of sin must be preached out of men’s souls and men must be made to see that there is nothing in sin. This is why Satan hates lips that preach and teach righteousness.
Sanctified vessels of honour are vessels of godliness who are about to gain entrance into the realm of glory. Every believer is expected to work. This is different from faithfully working in a department in church. Behind the scenes of different works in various departments in churches, there is another kind of work we are expected to be doing. This work is different from ministerial work, it is what Paul described in Ephesians 2:10. Your soul has to be mobile to be able to do this kind of work. It is a walk in (and work of) obedience.
Obedience in the spirit is beyond obeying express instructions of the Spirit through visions, prophecies, etc. You cannot obey at this level without the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. As the eyes of your understanding are enlightened, you become open to the realm of commandments. The opening of the eyes of your understanding makes it possible for the soul to know God’s will, which a soul needs for obedience at a high level. We must never think we will do well before God if all we do is church activities without God’s knowledge. Sacrificing knowledge for church activities is counterproductive.
While it is good to do service in church, it must never be done at the expense of your own equipping. God said, “I desire knowledge more than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6). The light of knowledge is more powerful than zeal for many church activities because it will tilt you more in the right direction. The “good works” Paul spoke of in his letters does not refer to feats such as building churches, although that is noble. The works are in two-folds: the first is Christ while the last is God.
Satan will prefer that you do many mighty works (before men) and leave the real work that you have been asked to do (Matt. 7:21-22). Satan hates the work of building Christ. Just the same way Christ is a work that must be done, God is also a work. Jesus is commissioned as the High Priest over the house of God to supervise and see to it that the work of God is finished. The only person who can tempt at this pedigree is Satan, who himself used to be a good high priest. This building of God is not anything external; it is an internal edifice. Satan often tempts men to build natural structures (which God cannot inhabit) for God while he himself hides in men.
Without Satan being driven out of men, God will not be able to live within them. This is the reason Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High. When Satan has been driven out of men, the saying will come to pass that “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3). We are in the days wherein we will see God take His rightful place. God taking His rightful place is He finding rest (Isaiah 66:1-2). Satan must have sworn that God will not rest.
The Lord had no tolerance for demons that possessed men in the days of His flesh because He saw them inhabit where God was supposed to dwell. Men are plundered when they make room for the presence of evil and wrong spirits. You cannot come to God except by works that are deliberately done. When you work, building is taking place and by the time you appear before God, the work would have been finished. After Christ, there is another work to be done which is the work of God. This takes place after Christ must have been formed in a man.
The purpose of the Gentile churches is to make haste to build a house for Christ and God (holy place and the most holy place). When Christ sees a house built for Him, He will come. While it is true that Satan is working, his work must not be allowed to stop the building of a house for God. Whoever will build for God has to be courageous and bold; otherwise, evil spirits will stop the process of building. The purpose for church is to build men, that is the inheritance.