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Blood Behind The Veil


Copyright by Joe Crews.
  All rights reserved.

Although the book of Hebrews has been greatly ignored by
Christian scholars and laymen alike, it contains some of the most
important, basic doctrines in the Bible.  Spiritual subjects
which are scarcely mentioned by other writers have been fully
explained by the author of Hebrews.
Perhaps the reason for its general neglect is twofold.  First of
all, it leans very heavily upon Old Testament imagery and
typology.  Many modern Christians seem to feel that it doesn't
fit in with the tone of gospel freedom enunciated in Paul's other
epistles.
Secondly, the book may be shunned because it contains some very
clear statements which seem to conflict with positions held by
the majority of Protestant Christians.  Three of those areas of
controversy are woven throughout the book of Hebrews.  Although
at first glance they may seem to be quite unrelated to each
other, these three subjects are very closely tied together.  The
nature of Christ's humanity, the high priestly work of Jesus in
the heavenly sanctuary, and the subject of perfection are
interrelated themes of truth in the book of Hebrews.
The first two chapters are devoted in general to the position and
nature of Christ before and after His incarnation.  Chapter three
begins to talk about the role of Jesus as the true High Priest in
contrast to the earthly ministry of human priests.  That theme
carries through the next ten chapters, and within those chapters
the term "perfect," or forms of it, are used nine times.
Now let us try to discover how these three major threads of
doctrine--Christ's human nature, His priesthood, and the
perfection of God's people--are really part of the same great
truth.
Many scholars have puzzled over Paul's extended explanation in
chapter two of Christ's total assumption of man's fallen nature.
He makes unequivocal statements that go far beyond any other
inspired description of the incarnation.  Verse 11 tells us that
"he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one:
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren."  In
other words, Christ took the same kind of body that His human
brothers possessed.  The Sanctifier (Christ) and the sanctified
(man) are all of the same physical nature, and can truly be
called brethren.  The point is enlarged in the next verse,
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same."  Verse 14.  Then
comes the strongest statement of all, and one that could be made
only by a person speaking under the direct inspiration of God,
"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest."
Verse 17.
Paul dares to say that it was almost an obligation for Jesus to
become, through this physical birth, just like the human family
whom He had come to save.  Such audacity was undoubtedly rooted
in his perfect assurance that he was setting forth the very
thought of God.
Please notice how the foundation is being laid for the chapters
which follow.  Here we find the theological rationale for the
high priesthood of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.  He had to
be a man in order to be "a merciful and faithful high priest."
He must of necessity pass through our experiences in order to
represent us properly before the Father.  "For we have not an
high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin."  Hebrews 4:15.
There are some who deny that the holy nature of Jesus could ever
be tempted by any of the allurements or provocations of this
world.  Let such be reminded that Jesus emptied Himself of His
divine form when He came among men.  There is no question about
His perfect sinlessness, but He took upon Himself not "the nature
of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."  Hebrews
2:16.
Could that nature be tempted?  Of course it could.  We know it
because we have that nature also.  We cannot and dare not probe
into mysteries which are not revealed, but we can be certain of
those things which are revealed.  He was tempted in the same
points in which we struggle against the evil one.
As a partaker of our flesh and blood He was no stranger to the
sorrows, trials, and disappointments which commonly afflict our
lives.  In no way did He use His divine power to evade the
infirmities of human nature.  Yet He did not sin by even a
thought.
Did His sinless experience separate Him so far from us that we
can never hope to gain the same victory over sin?  No.  There are
scores of assurances in the Bible that we may overcome as He
overcame.  We may have the "mind of Christ" (Philippians 2:5), be
filled with "all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:19), and
partake of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4).
The pure and holy aversion to sin which resided in our blessed
Lord from the moment of His birth may be experienced by every
converted, Spirit-filled Christian through faith in God.  Jesus
repeatedly acknowledged His total dependence on the Father for
everything He said and everything He did.  He deliberately
limited Himself to the works that were made possible by prayer,
faith, and surrender--avenues which are also open to every one of
us.

Jesus--The True High Priest

This entire plan of victory over sin was an integral part of the
beautiful priestly ministry of Jesus which Paul now proceeds to
describe.  Because he is dealing with Jewish Christians who have
trusted totally in the Old Covenant rituals of salvation, Paul
chooses now to use those very well-known ceremonies to establish
the "new and living way" of salvation through Christ.
Patiently he reviews the familiar prescription for choosing and
consecrating men to the Levitical priesthood.  In quite lengthy
detail he outlines the tabernacle services in which the blood of
animals was sprinkled in the holy place to make a record of sin.
Even the furniture in both apartments of the earthly sanctuary is
described (Hebrews 9:1-5).  Paul reminds his readers that it had
been copied by Moses from the pattern showed to him in the mount
(Hebrews 8:5).
Now we come to Hebrews 9 and 10 where the sharpest parallels are
drawn between the type and the antitype.  Here we can see clearly
why Paul has made so much over the details of the wilderness
tabernacle.  Everything that was done by the priests in the holy
and most holy places of the earthly sanctuary was merely a shadow
pointing to what Christ would do as the true High Priest in the
heavenly sanctuary.  Said Paul, "We have such an high priest, who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the
heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man."  Hebrews 8:1, 2.
Then the first ten verses of Hebrews 9 review the daily ministry
carried on in the first apartment by the regular priests, and the
special, awesome work of the high priest on the Day of Atonement
in the most holy place.
Upon this point of the second apartment Paul focuses special
attention.  "But into the second went the high priest alone once
every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and
for the errors of the people:  The Holy Ghost this signifying,
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest,
while as the first tabernacle was yet standing."  Hebrews 9:7, 8.
Here is revealed something very important.  The Holy Spirit is
declared to be using the ordinances of the old sanctuary to teach
something about the one in heaven.  The Spirit also witnessed
that the way into the heavenly sanctuary would be opened only
after the earthly had fulfilled its appointed mission.
Consider this question:  Why does the writer spend so much time
delineating the particular work of the priests in the two
apartments of the tabernacle on earth?  And why does he solemnly
affirm that the Holy Spirit is teaching something special by that
two-phase ministry?  Because immediately Paul begins to describe
the very same two-apartment work that Jesus would do in the
heavenly sanctuary.  "Neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us."  Hebrews 9:12.
The words "holy place" are translated from the Greek expression
"ta hagia," which is a plural form meaning "holy places."  So
Paul is literally stating that Jesus would take His own blood and
enter both apartments (holy places) of the true tabernacle in
heaven to start ministering in our behalf.  The same plural form
is used in Hebrews 9:24, "For Christ is not entered into the holy
places (ta hagia) made with hands, which are the figures of the
true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
God for us."

Two Apartments in Heaven

Some have made it seem that the great original sanctuary in the
heavens did not have two separated apartments as reflected in the
shadow-copy made by Moses.  If that is true, then Moses was
disobedient to the specific commandment of God so plainly
restated in Hebrews 8:5.  "For, See, saith he, that thou make all
things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."  If
Moses made any addition to what was shown him in the mountain,
then he could not be truly making all things according to the
pattern.
Furthermore, Paul would have been misleading his readers by
constantly affirming that Jesus was the ministering Priest in the
holy places of heaven instead of just one holy place.  He spoke
of Christ as "A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."  Hebrews 8:2.
The word "sanctuary" in this text is the same plural form, ta
hagia, meaning holy places.  This proves that there had to be a
holy place and a most holy place in the temple above.
If the ministry of Christ did not involve a work in both
apartments, why did Paul take such pains to describe the services
and furnishings of both apartments just before he made the
application of them to the work of Jesus in the heavenly
sanctuary?  No one denies that Christ was symbolized by those
earthly priests and the heavenly sanctuary was foreshadowed by
the two-apartment earthly tabernacle.  Where there is a shadow,
there must be a substance casting the shadow.
As a final proof that the heavenly sanctuary has the same
separation of rooms as the earthly, read John's description of
Jesus "in the midst of the seven candlesticks."  Revelation 1:13.
This confirms Paul's description in Hebrews 9:2, "For there was a
tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the
table, and the shewbread."  John saw the Son of man in the first
apartment of the temple in heaven, where the candlesticks always
were located.
John also described the "seven lamps of fire burning before the
throne" in Revelation 4:5.  Then a few verses further he beheld a
"Lamb as it had been slain," "in the midst of the throne."
Revelation 5:6.  Here again Jesus is located in the first
apartment of the heavenly sanctuary where a throne is also
identified.  More information is added in Revelation 8:2 where an
angel was seen standing at "the golden altar which was before the
throne" offering incense in a golden censer.  This identifies the
final piece of furniture which stood in the first apartment, or
holy place.
As for the most holy place in heaven, read the words of John in
Revelation 11:19, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament."
Surely this provides the final proof that the pattern for the
earthly also had two apartments.  The most holy place contained
the sacred ark wherein were the Ten Commandments (Hebrews 9:4).

Heavenly Sanctuary Needs Cleansing

Now we are confronted with one of the most amazing things about
Christ's heavenly priesthood.  We are told why He would take His
blood into the presence of God for us.  "It was necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
these:  but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these.  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."  Hebrews
9:22-24.
Here we are assured that just as the earthly sanctuary needed
cleansing, so the heavenly also needed cleansing or purifying.
Paul makes the astounding statement that "it was ... necessary"
for the patterns in the heavens to be cleansed.  This explanation
of Christ ministering His own blood to cleanse the heavenly
sanctuary can be understood only as we know how the sanctuary
became defiled in the first place.  It seems very strange indeed
that there could be any defiling factor in the sinless atmosphere
of heaven.  But the words are there and we cannot ignore them.
Something needed to be cleansed in heaven,
and the blood of Jesus accomplished it as He ministered in the
most holy place.  We know
it was done in the second apartment because of
the next verse, "Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as
the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with
blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world; but now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Hebrews 9:25, 26.
These words declare that Christ is now fulfilling the ancient
shadow which occurred every year on the Day of Atonement in
Israel.  That was the solemn ceremony called "the cleansing of
the sanctuary."  It constituted one of the most important
ministries ever carried out in the tabernacle.  As Paul indicates
in Hebrews it had to be done each year by the high priest.  It
was the only day of the year that anyone could go through that
veil separating the holy place from the most holy, and only one
man could do it--the high priest.  Paul declared that Jesus would
not need to go through that veil every year like His earthly
counterpart.  But He would do it only "once in the end of the
world."  He would not need the blood of animals, but His own
blood, to accomplish the necessary cleansing.

What Caused Defilement?

In order to understand how the earthly and the heavenly
sanctuaries became defiled, we must go back to the significant
events which led up to the Day of Atonement.
After Moses returned from the mountain where he had been shown
the pattern of the holy places in heaven, he called together all
the skilled artisans of Israel to build the wilderness tabernacle
according to the divine blueprint.  It consisted of two
apartments separated by a heavy veil, approximating fifteen by
forty-five feet in size.  The sanctuary was surrounded by a
courtyard in which the altar of burnt offering and laver were
located.
In the first apartment, or holy place, was the table of
shewbread, the golden candlesticks, and the altar of incense.
Behind the veil was a second apartment called the most holy
place, which contained only one article of furniture, the ark of
the covenant.  On either end of the ark was a covering cherub
carved out of gold, sheltering the mercy seat in the middle,
which represented the very presence of God.
As the lightweight, portable tabernacle was carried through the
wilderness and erected at their places of sojourn, the children
of Israel would bring prescribed offerings to obtain forgiveness
for their sins.  Daily the transgressors would come into the
courtyard, place a flawless lamb on the altar, confess their sins
over it, and slay the animal with their own hand.  Then,
depending on the class of sinner, the priest would either
sprinkle the blood in the holy place, or eat a small piece of the
flesh.  In either case, the priest became the sin-bearer for the
people, and eventually the sin was transferred through the priest
into the sanctuary where a record of the sin was made through the
sprinkled blood.
The symbolism, of course, is obvious.  The lamb represented
Jesus.  Sin meant death, and the confessed sins of the people
were transferred to the innocent lamb.  Then, through the blood,
their sins were transferred into the tabernacle.
Because the record of sin accumulated in the sanctuary, God
commanded Israel to observe a special, solemn service once a year
called the Day of Atonement.  At that time, the sanctuary was to
be cleansed of its defilement.  It was the time when final
atonement was made for the sins which had been confessed day
after day during the year.  In truth it was looked upon as the
day of judgment, and even modern Jews consider Yom Kippur as the
most important day of the year.  If confession had not been made
by the end of that day, a person was cut off from Israel and left
without hope.
No wonder, then, that the people prayed and fasted as that day of
judgment approached every seventh month of the year.  While they
waited with sincere heart-searching, the high priest cast lots on
two goats in the outer court.  After taking a censer of fire and
incense through the veil into the most holy place, he returned to
take the blood of a bullock for his own sins and sprinkled it
seven times before the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14).  Then he
killed the goat upon which the lot fell (the Lord's goat) and
also sprinkled its blood in the most holy place before the mercy
seat.  This made atonement for the sanctuary which had been
defiled, as well as for the people who had confessed their sins.
After sprinkling the blood on all the places where the day-to-day
sin-laden blood had been applied, the high priest emerged from
the sanctuary and put his hands on the head of the second goat,
the scapegoat.  Then that goat was led off into the wilderness to
perish alone (Leviticus 16:20-22).
What was accomplished by this dramatic ritual service?  The
record states, "On that day shall the priest make an atonement
for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord."  Leviticus 16:30.  It is important to
understand that there was a sanctifying, cleansing work done for
the people as well as a blotting out of the record of their
transgressions.
The symbolisms are all quite self-evident except the scapegoat.
What  does it represent?  Please keep in mind that this ceremony
depicted the final disposition of all sin that had been committed
during the year.  Those who confessed by bringing a lamb were now
clean.  Those who had not come by the end of the day had to bear
their own sins and were cut off from Israel.  The scapegoat could
not represent Jesus, because there is no shedding of blood on its
part.  Who else would have to bear any responsibility for the
sins of all the people?  Only one.  Satan, the great originator
of all sin, would finally have rolled back upon him his share of
guilt in every sin he had instigated.
This is what is represented by the scapegoat.  He had no part
whatsoever in the atonement.  The Scriptures plainly say that the
high priest had made an end of reconciling the people.  Atonement
had been completed and all the confessed guilt of the people had
been blotted out.  This punishment of Satan for all the sins in
which he had shared a primary responsibility was not a
substitutionary or atoning punishment at all, except in the sense
of a murderer atoning for his sins by being executed for them.
As the man led away the scapegoat to perish miserably in the
wilderness, the final eradication of all sin from the universe
was vividly depicted.  With the death of the wicked, both root
and branches, the terminal traces of sin's awful consequences
will be completely obliterated.
Thus, the Day of Atonement prefigured the disposition of sin from
the universe.  The ultimate lines of responsibility for all sin
will be unerringly traced to the guilty parties, and someone must
pay the penalty for each sin.  The death of the lamb satisfies
the penalty for all who have faith in the Saviour, but all others
will have to bear the penalty in their own bodies.  Each sinner
who had not made Christ his sin-bearer will bear his own sins.
Christ vicariously carried the sins of millions and died as a
substitute for them, even though He never committed one sin.
Satan will bear the sins of millions also, but he will die for
those sins because he was personally guilty of causing them to be
committed.  So the two goats symbolized the only two ways for sin
to be finally disposed of--atonement through the death of the
substitute sin-bearer, or punishment through the death of the
sinner.
Now we are better prepared to understand what Jesus is doing
right now in the heavenly sanctuary.  The book of Hebrews clearly
teaches that Christ is ministering His blood for us in the most
holy place.  Paul declared that He did not need to go in every
year, but only "once in the end of the world."  Obviously, then,
the same mediatorial work had to be done in the sanctuary above
as transpired in the earthly tabernacle on the Day of Atonement.
This establishes beyond question that the heavenly sanctuary is
being cleansed by the one-time entrance of Jesus into the most
holy place.  This agrees perfectly with Paul's assertion that "it
was ... necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified ... but  ... with better sacrifices than
these."  Hebrews 9:23.
We now have to answer the question as to why the heavenly
sanctuary would need cleansing.  In the earthly type it was
needed because of the record of sin through the sprinkled blood.
That record of sin had to be removed.
Is there also a record of sin in the heavenly sanctuary?  If so,
how and where is that record maintained?  According to the Bible
it is done by means of books.  John wrote, "And the books were
opened:  and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works."  Revelation 20:12.
No one can deny that there is a record of sin in heaven.  It is
all written down in the books, and the work of judgment takes
place out of those books of sin-records.  Daniel describes the
judgment scene in these words, "The judgment was set, and the
books were opened."  Daniel 7:10.



Atonement Ministered
Behind the Veil

The work of Christ in the sanctuary now begins to come into
focus.  The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is the blotting
out of sin through the atoning merits of the blood which Jesus
ministers in behalf of those who believe.  You might ask, "How
could this be?  Wasn't the atonement finished on the cross when
Jesus died?"  There is no question that Jesus completed the
sacrifice which provided for a final atonement for every soul who
would apply for cleansing and pardon.  But just as the slaying of
the lamb in the courtyard did not cleanse the record of sin until
it was sprinkled in the sanctuary, so the death of Jesus can
effect no cleansing until it is applied to each individual life
who seeks it through the High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
Ever since Jesus entered the most holy place through the veil, He
has been engaged in the work of judgment, cleansing the record of
sin by appealing His blood to the Father.  The writer of Hebrews
definitely ties the work of Jesus in the holy of holies to the
judgment.  He wrote, "For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For
then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the
world:  but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  And ... it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
Hebrews 9:24-27.
Here the apostle Paul connects the judgment with the work of
Jesus in the most holy place.  That cleansing was always
considered the day of judgment, because it dealt with the
"putting away" of sin and the final disposition of it--either
through the sin-bearer priest or the cutting off of the
unrepentant.
Then in the next verse Paul describes the end of the judgment and
the coming of Christ to deliver those who would be accounted
worthy of salvation.  "So Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the
second time without sin unto salvation."  Hebrews 9:28.
Some mighty truths are revealed in this verse.  Christ had
completed His work as sin-bearer and priest.  He is now described
as appearing "without sin."  This is not talking about His having
a sinless nature--that has never been in question.  But He is no
longer bearing the sins of His people before the Father.  He no
longer administers His atonement for them in the heavenly
sanctuary.  He has finished with interceding.  The work of the
investigative judgment out of the books of heaven is ended.  Now
He returns without sin--no longer bearing people's sins--to
execute the judgment which has been determined out of the books.
John speaks of that moment in these words:  "He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still:  and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still:  and he that is righteous, let him be righteous
still:  and he that is holy, let him be holy still.  And behold,
I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man
according as his work shall be."  Revelation 22:11, 12.
When Christ lays aside His priestly garment and puts on His
kingly robe, the probation of every person has been eternally
settled and fixed.  Every name has been accepted or rejected on
the basis of the books.  A great decree goes forth from the
throne declaring that all must remain as they are, and announcing
the immediate return of Jesus to execute the judgments
determined.  "And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire."  Revelation 20:15.
Please note that the final determining factor will be the book of
life.  After the judgment takes place involving the book of life,
some names will be found in it; others will not, because they
have been blotted out in the judgment.  "And another book was
opened, which is the book of life:  and the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works. ...  And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire."  Revelation 20:12, 15.
Daniel speaks of the same event in these words:  "And at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.  And many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt."  Daniel 12:1, 2.
Again, the sequence is exactly the same.  A determination has
been made out of the books, and execution of the judgment follows
immediately.  Only those names in the book of life which survived
the searching scrutiny of the investigative judgment will be
accounted worthy of eternal life.
In this brief treatment of the subject, there will be no
opportunity to establish the beginning point of the cleansing
work in the heavenly sanctuary.  Suffice it to say here that
there is one particular prophecy of Daniel which actually
pinpoints the year of Christ's entry into the most holy place to
begin the final atonement work for us.  Since it has already
begun, and we are at this very moment living in the solemn time
of that judgment, it seems more appropriate to spend the rest of
our time thinking of how the priestly work of Christ can benefit
us right now.  It is interesting to note in passing that
according to the earthly shadow, the time for our High Priest to
be in the most holy place would be short compared to His ministry
in the first apartment.

Christ's Blood Makes Perfect

After contrasting the earthly priesthood with the heavenly in the
first nine chapters of Hebrews, we now enter the tenth chapter
where Paul explains the greatest advantage of the one over the
other.  All along he has emphasized that the Old Covenant rituals
of animal sacrifices could not make people stop sinning.  In
Hebrews 9:9 he wrote that these things "could not make him that
did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience."  In
contrast he declared that the blood of Christ, because of His
spotless life, could "purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God."  Verse 14.
Now chapter ten opens on the very same note.  "For the law having
a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of
things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year
by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.  For then
would they not have ceased to be offered?  Because that the
worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of
sins.  But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made
of sins every year."  Hebrews 10:1-3.
Here Paul exposes the greatest weakness of the Levitical
priesthood with its constant round of sin offerings.  There was
never an end to the process, because people were never empowered
to stop sinning.  Each Day of Atonement the sanctuary had to be
cleansed, and there was a "remembrance again made of sins every
year."  Verse 3.  Had there been any true purging and perfecting
of the worshiper, there would have been an end of bringing sin
offerings also.  "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and goats should take away sins.  Wherefore. ..."  Hebrews 10:4,
5.  That word "wherefore" indicates "for this reason."
For what reason?  For the reason that sin offerings could not
take sin out of people's lives.  "Wherefore when he cometh into
the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
but a body hast thou prepared me."  Verse 5.
These verses contain the most crucial message of the book of
Hebrews.  They assure us that Jesus came into this world because
He never sinned.  He would do what no animal sacrifice could
accomplish.  He would "take away sin" by living a perfect life of
obedience in the body of flesh prepared for His entrance into the
human family.  His life was characterized by total submission to
the will of His Father, and the psalmist defines that will to be
the law of God written on the heart.  By that will (obedience to
the law), Christ was able to offer Himself as a perfect sin
offering to the Father, thus securing sanctification for us.
"Offering for sin thou wouldest not ... which are offered by the
law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.  He taketh
away the first, that he may establish the second.  By the which
will we are sanctified."  Verses 8-10.
Let us ask, What is the "first" which was taken away?  It was the
sacrifices offered "by (or according to) the law"--the ceremonial
law of shadows and types.  What is the "second" which He
establishes?  According to our verse, the will of God.  "Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God."  What is that will?  "I delight to
do thy will, O my God:  yea, thy law is within my heart."  Psalm
40:8.  His will is the law, written in the heart.  In contrast to
the never-ending cycle of sinning and confessing, Jesus came to
do away with sin.  In His body of flesh He rendered perfect
obedience to His Father, opening a way, through the veil of His
flesh, for us to obtain total victory over sin also.
Paul continues, "By the which will (the law in our hearts) we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all.  And every priest standeth daily ministering and
offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins:  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God. ... For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are (being)
sanctified."  Hebrews 10:10-14.
Here the great superiority of the New Covenant is dramatically
asserted.  By means of the atoning death of Jesus the law of God
is written on the fleshly tables of the heart, making a perfect
sanctification accessible to all.  The contrast is between the
continual yearly sacrifices that could never take away sin or
make the worshipers perfect, and "the offering" of the body of
Jesus "once for all" which can indeed take away sin and make us
perfect.  "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in
of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God."
Hebrews 7:19.  That "better hope," of course, is the atoning
efficacy of the better sacrifice--the blood of Jesus.  And what
or whom did it make perfect?  "By the which we draw nigh unto
God."
The clinching argument on perfection is presented in Hebrews
13:20, 21.  "Now the God of peace ... through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do
his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his
sight, through Jesus Christ."  And what is His will?  "For this
is the will of God, even your sanctification."  1 Thessalonians
4:3.
Some people are afraid of that word "perfect," but Paul did not
hesitate to declare the mighty power of the gospel to save to the
uttermost.  No one can read the book of Hebrews intelligently
without hearing it over and over again.  Sometimes it is referred
to as "perfecting" the believer; at other times, as "purging the
conscience," or "sanctifying" the worshiper.  Some Christians
reject the idea that the death of Jesus provided sanctification.
They believe sanctification to be a totally different work,
accomplished by the Holy Spirit following justification.  But the
writer of Hebrews certainly had no such view of righteousness by
faith.  He constantly connected the blood atonement to the work
of sanctification.  "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify
the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate."
Hebrews 13:12.  Again in Hebrews 10:10, "By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all."  Then in Hebrews 10:29 Paul referred to "the blood of
the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified."  In Hebrews 6:1 he
wrote, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works."
Lest anyone should relate this doctrine of total victory over sin
to some kind of "holy flesh" doctrine, we should hasten to add
this footnote:  all the sanctifying and perfecting available to
sinful human beings is received as a gift from God and is made
possible only through the life and death of Jesus.  His sinless
life and atoning death is imputed to the believer to justify him
for sins committed, but His victorious life is also imparted to
the Christian to keep him from falling into sin.  The work of our
great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary is to minister both
of these glorious requirements though His mediatorial office.
With Paul we concur that "in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth
no good thing."  Romans 7:18.  But we also agree with his words a
few lines later, "For what the law could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."  Romans 8:3, 4.
The word "righteousness" here is the Greek work "dikaima" which
means "just requirements."  Thus, the requirement of the law can
be met in the believer only because Christ lived a perfect life
in the same flesh. This is not referring to imputed righteousness
but to the actual fulfillment of the law's requirements.  This is
definitely sanctification, or imparted righteousness.
The author of Hebrews establishes the fundamental necessity of
Christian perfection by the statement that if "perfection were
(possible) by the Levitical priesthood ... What further need was
there that another priest should rise after the order of
Melchisedec."  Hebrews 7:11.  The need existed because the old
system had failed to perfect the worshipers, and if Christ had
not provided for perfection, it would have been no improvement
over the sacrifice of animals.  It is that power of total victory
over sin which made the priesthood of Christ superior to that of
Aaron.  Were sanctification not included in the mediation of
Jesus, it would provide exactly what the earthly shadow provided
and nothing more.
We have before us now three reasons why the New Covenant can take
away sin and make the "comers thereunto perfect."
FIRST:  Christ did not come with sin offerings, but with a body
in which He lived a life of perfect obedience.  By the example of
that flesh He has consecrated for us a way of true holiness.  His
victory over sin in a body like ours assures that we can partake
by faith of the same victory.  "Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a
new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh. ...  Let us draw near with a
true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience."  Hebrews 10:19-22.
SECOND:  His blood ratified the New Covenant by which the law is
written on the heart.  This spiritualizes the believer, enabling
Christ to live out His life of obedience within.
THIRD:  Christ's unchanging priesthood makes available every
moment the merits of
His atoning blood for justification and sanctification.  He takes
away sin by cleansing  the record of sin from the sanctuary
through forgiveness, and by cleansing the hearts of the believers
through His sanctifying presence.  "Wherefore He is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them."  Hebrews 7:25.
Paul speaks of "boldness" and "full assurance" in following our
High Priest into the holiest.  Who could not come confidently
when the cleansing effects are spelled out by phrases such as
these:  "hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," "perfected
forever them that are sanctified," "no more conscience of sin,"
"put away sin," "purge your conscience from dead works," and
saved "to the uttermost"?
If the blood of Christ did not make provision for purging the
conscience and perfecting the worshiper, it would have no
advantage over the ceremonial law of sacrifices.  And if no
people could be produced by Christ who would fulfill God's
original requirement of obedience, Satan's charges against God
would be true.  But if it can be proved that obedience is
possible through the power of God, then every sinner will finally
have to acknowledge the justice of God in requiring obedience as
a test of loyalty and love.
Thank God that provision has been made for the past, present, and
future.  The atoning merits of the once-for-all sacrifice of the
true Lamb are still being extended to such as are being
sanctified and will continue until our High Priest steps out from
the heavenly sanctuary.  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help
in time of need."  Hebrews 4:16.  Right now, as you read these
words, Jesus is pleading His blood for you.  By faith follow Him
through the veil so that He can blot out your sins and deliver
you from sin's power!

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