April 2024: Glory Through the Torn Body

Published on 04/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

The cost of sin is hefty.

When we tell lies, we ruin friendships. When we fornicate, we catch STDs that can make us infertile. When we steal, we're locked up, leaving our children without a parent.

Ultimately, sin kills us. Sin results in death, as God ordained death for any sin. Since every person is born a sinner, we are all destined to die, and that death would have been forever if it weren't for Christ's death on our behalf.

Before Christ came, God opened a path to temporary forgiveness to His people through animal sacrifices. Instead of dying for their own sins, people could offer certain animals for certain sins. So there was a lot of slaughtering, a lot of blood, day after day. Countless innocent animals died for sins. Sin is hefty.

But no one knows the magnitude of sin as much as God Himself and His Son do. Christ paid the heftiest price for sins--not even for his own sins, which he had none. His infinite demotion as the glorious Son of God promoted sinful humanity immeasurably. His once and for all sacrifice pays for all sins, past, present, and future, allowing repentant humanity to enjoy fellowship with God forever.

The writer of Hebrews spent a considerable portion of his epistle detailing the superiority of Christ's priesthood and sacrifice to the Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrificial system and urging us to whole-heartedly turn to Christ for our eternal salvation. Here, he concludes his lessons with a most urgent call and warning for us to heed his inspired words. Like a best friend, he wanted our very best--which is entrance into God's eternal Sabbath--so we'd do ourselves the best service by heeding him.

Hebrews 10 - Chapter Ten of the Epistle to the Hebrew Christians

"For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near. Or else wouldn't they have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a yearly reminder of sins. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1-4, WEB)

The part of the Torah that's in focus here is the sacrificial system. The animal sacrifices were merely shadows or prototypes of the real thing that's to come: the sacrifice of Christ. Since they were shadows, they did not and could not permanently make atonement for people's sins. If they were able to, then they wouldn't have the necessity to be offered daily and yearly. They would have perfected the people so they wouldn't even have consciousness of their sin. What the regular sacrifices could consistently do was to remind people of their sins, that they were sinful people. The truth is that no animal blood, however grand the animal might be, could permanently remove sins. They could not cleanse the sin nature, so people would persistently commit sins. Moreover, animal blood only made atonement for a limited amount of sins, not for all sins such as adultery and murder. Only the perfect sacrifice of Christ can do that: to permanently remove all of our sins and cleanse our sin nature so we'll be resurrected sinlessly. Indeed, at the moment, we still have our sin nature but it has been weakened. We won't have it anymore upon our resurrection. Hallelujah!

"Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, 'Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire, but you prepared a body for me; You had no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.'
Previously saying, 'Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn't desire, neither had pleasure in them' (those which are offered according to the law), then he has said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He takes away the first, that he may establish the second, by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Hebrews 10:5-14)

To show that the animal sacrificial system under the Mosaic covenant was never God's intended permanent solution to our sin problem, the writer partially quoted from Psalm 40:6-8, where David said:

"Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire.
You have opened my ears.
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
Then I said, 'Behold, I have come.
It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
I delight to do your will, my God.
Yes, your law is within my heart.'"

First, let us understand what David originally meant when he wrote these words about himself. Here, he pointed out the fact that what God truly desired from him was obedience and delight in His divine laws, not any animal sacrifices or grain offerings such as the burnt and sin offering. Even though God required such offerings and sacrifices in the Torah, He did not desire them above obedience. In other words, if people offered these to God without obeying His moral commandments, He did not take pleasure in them. Conformance to His ritual ordinances is acceptable only when we conform to His moral ordinances. Simply carrying out the ritual laws while committing sins will only anger God, not delight Him. Moreover, if people remained obedient to Yahweh, they wouldn't need to offer sacrifices to make atonement for their sins in the first place.

David realized what God truly desired: obedience. He praised God for opening his ears, so he could readily accept God's laws and joyfully do them, as he said, "I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart." (Psalm 40:8)

In humble eagerness, David said to God, "Behold, I have come." This was an offer of total surrender to God that meant, "I've come to do your will. Lead me." He was willing to "go" to God to be led by Him.

David said that the scroll wrote about him. The scroll likely refers to the scroll of the Torah that Moses wrote under divine guidance. In the Torah, God gave specific ordinances that the kings of Israel should obey, such as to regularly study the Torah and operate according to its commandments. Since David was a king of Israel, the scroll wrote about him in a general sense, not about him individually. As the king, he was required to live by the Torah; so he offered "I have come" to God, to do exactly what the scroll said.

Now that we've studied what David meant in Psalm 40:6-8, let us study how these verses apply to Jesus. Under divine influence, the writer of the book of Hebrews realized that these verses foreshadow the mission of Jesus Christ. While these verses apply to David in a limited way, they apply to Christ in the fullest sense.

Hebrews 10:5-7 partially quotes Psalm 40:6-8, applying the words to Jesus. When Jesus came into this world through the miraculous virgin birth, he was to do the ultimate will of his Father: to redeem sinners from their sins and the penalty of their sins which is eternal condemnation. Jesus said that animal sacrifices were not what God ultimately desired for the eternal cleansing of sins (Hebrews 10:5a, 6a). Rather, what God desired was a sacrifice to cleanse people's sins once and for all, and that sacrifice is none other than Jesus His Son; thus, Jesus said that God had prepared a body for him--his own body--to be offered up as an eternal sacrifice (Hebrews 10:5b). Jesus willingly offered up himself, saying to God, "Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God." (Hebrews 10:7) Whereas the scroll of the Torah wrote about David in a non-personal, general sense, the Torah literally prophesied Jesus' first coming, as Yahweh told Israel that He would raise up to them a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Hence, the writer showed that God did away with the old sacrificial system and replaced it with the new sacrificial system. Instead of having the same animal sacrifices being offered day after day without achieving lasting or full results, God had His Son die once and for all to permanently remove sins from His people. He made ready a body for that permanent cleansing: the body of His own Son.

After he sacrificed himself to forever perfect God's people who are being sanctified, Jesus arose from the dead and ascended back to heaven,and sat down at God's right hand. The right hand is symbolic of power and authority. There, he sits now, waiting for all his enemies to be made his footstool,as Yahweh promised him (Psalm 110:1). The fact that he's "sitting" implies his completed work of salvation. In contrast, the Levitical priests had to constantly stand to serve people with numerous sacrifices, day after day, year after year. There was no time for them to sit down and rest!

"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them: 'After those days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;' then he says, 'I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.' Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Hebrews 10:15-18)

The writer then referred back to Yahweh's words in Jeremiah 31:31-34 regarding the new covenant. He reminded us that God promised to put His Torah in our hearts and write them on our minds and that He will forgive our sins forever.

Since Yahweh has now forgiven us of our sins by the perfect sacrifice of His Son, then there is no further need for animal sacrifice or any other sacrifice for the purpose of remitting sins. God's work has been accomplished. It's a done deal. This was why Jesus spoke with his dying breath, "It is finished." (John 19:30)

"Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:19-23)

It should be clear to the original audience that Jesus' ministry is far better than that of the Levitical priesthood and such a splendid service infinitely benefits all of God's saints. Lest his readers still could not realize the privileges of being members of the new covenant, the writer exhorted them with these words.

The writer enumerated how his readers, including us, are benefited from Jesus' priesthood:

a) We have boldness to enter into the true holy place, to approach the throne of grace, by the blood of Jesus. This is the way he dedicated for and opened to us. This is a new and living way, "through the veil," which here the writer was speaking of Jesus' flesh. He bodily offered up himself, and his body became the veil that was torn for us, so to speak, so we can enter through the veil to stand before the throne of God in fellowship. Recall that a veil separated the holy place from the most holy place, through which only the high priest could enter only on Yom Kippur and only with the blood of animals. But Jesus' body was sacrificed for us so that there's no more veil separating us from the actual most holy place--God's heavenly abode and His presence. Jesus' body is the veil that was torn for us, opening to us the only pathway to God.

b) We have a great Priest over God’s house to mediate for us. Jesus is the only perfect High Priest we've ever had and will ever have.

c) We have our hearts (minds) sprinkled and purified by Jesus' blood from an evil conscience and our body washed with "pure water," which may speak of the Holy Spirit. Our entire selves have been cleansed from our sins in which we wallowed.

Since we have such a wondrous High Priest who has done so much for us and continues to do so, we are to draw near to Yahweh with a sincere heart in fullness of faith. We should have no doubt or fear to do so. Since Yahweh loved us so much by having His Son die for us, then what is there to fear or doubt now that Jesus has completed his divine work to save us? Jesus has met God's just demands for sins, so being cleansed, we have no reason to fear of going before God in prayer and fellowship.

Since our minds and bodies have been cleansed from our sins, then we ought to steadfastly and unwaveringly hold onto the confession of our hope because God, the One who promised us eternal blessings, is faithful and won't go back on His Word. We merely have to seize His promises by faith. Nothing is standing between us and God now that we've been cleansed, and we will continue to be cleansed and sanctified every time we sin and repent.

"Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

We are not to forsake assembling with other brethren in worship and fellowship. Why? Because this way, we can urge one another to keep strong in our faith, to continue in our labor of love and doing good works to glorify God. We are to do this especially when the days of this world are drawing to an end and divine judgment is approaching. In the writer's day, some brethren were abandoning meeting together, and he didn't want that to continue.

"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries. A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'Vengeance belongs to me,' says the Lord, 'I will repay.' Again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31)

It's highly important for us to promote one another in our faith. To show just how important it is, the writer gave us another stern warning.

In very clear language, the writer again warned us of the dire consequences of apostasy. If we sin deliberately after having received and accepted the Gospel, then there's no sacrifice that's left for us. Apostasy entails sinning willfully against God; it is about utter rebellion. Apostasy has no offering for sin. Jesus is the supreme sacrifice, and his sacrifice does not cover apostasy. If his sacrifice makes atonement for apostasy, then all unbelievers in the world would have been saved, too, since both unbelievers and apostates have no faith in God or Christ. We know faith is what gets us saved, so without faith, no one can be justified. God is not mocked. We reap what we sow. Apostates cannot expect to be saved when they utterly and willfully reject faith to sin deliberately.

What apostates can expect is God's fiery judgment. Yahweh is a consuming fire. He declared that He will judge His adversaries, who will be consumed by His wrath. Apostates are His adversaries, even though they were once His people. As God said, He will judge both His adversaries and His people. No one can escape His judgment when they make themselves His enemies.

Apostates are God's enemies because to turn away from faith is to spiritually tread underfoot God's beloved Son. After Yahweh had so lovingly had His Son die for our sins, do you think He would appreciate it if we turn against His Son and scorn his sacrifice? We scorn his sacrifice and insult the Holy Spirit of grace which raised Christ from the dead when we turn our backs on him after initially accepting him as our Savior. That would be treating the holy blood of Christ, the blood that established the new covenant and the blood that had once sanctified the apostates, as an unholy thing.

If even sinners under the Mosaic covenant (an inferior covenant) were swiftly executed with no mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses, then how much more will violators of the new covenant (a superior covenant since it's ministered by the Son of God) be worthy of severer judgment! The devouring fire is all they can expect. Oh, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

"But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings; partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions; and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so. For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens. Therefore don't throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:32-36)

To help his recipients stay rooted in their faith, the writer reminded them of their exemplary past conduct and exhorted them to continue in it. After they had embraced the Gospel and were enlightened by the Spirit, they endured sufferings, which included persecution and the sharing in other brethren's sorrow. They were oppressed and reproached by the world and had their belongings confiscated by the authority. Yet, they rejoiced, for they knew that they have a much better, enduring possession waiting for them in the heavens. Their attitude and behavior were evidence of their genuine faith, for faith without works is dead.

Furthermore, when the writer himself was in chains, the brethren had compassion on him, not despising his imprisonment. This is the first time we know something about the writer personally. He was someone who was persecuted for the name of Christ and prevailed onward, so it was fitting for him to exhort his readers to persevere onward. Neither party was a stranger to suffering.

With the then-current persecution that's raging on in the background, the writer encouraged his recipients not to throw away their boldness, which they had shown in the past. Their boldness has a great reward attached to it: their eternal rest in God's Sabbath. They needed to endure patiently "so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise": the Sabbath rest.

"'In a very little while, he who comes will come, and will not wait. But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:37-39)

The writer next partially quoted Habakkuk 2:3-4 from the Septuagint, which says:
"In a very little while,
he who comes will come, and will not wait.
But the righteous will live by faith.
If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

(The Hebrew manuscript for Habakkuk 2:4 has, "Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith." No one knows why the Septuagint reads so differently in this verse. Recall that the Septuagint is the first Greek translation of the Tanakh and which Jesus and his disciples used.)

This is one final warning from the writer in this section: the righteous shall live by faith. A righteous person lives by their faith in God. They look up to God rather than inward to themselves. Because their faith is rooted in God instead of in themselves, they shall live. It's their faith that enables them to live, to persist in life despite life's hardships. It's their faith that makes them right in the sight of God. Let us look at these principles or words more closely:

"Righteousness" is both a judicial condition of a person and the quality of a person. "Righteousness" means a right standing with God. When a person actively expresses faith in God, their faith makes them have a right standing with God. This is called justification through faith. Genesis 15:6 is first to illustrate this principle; it speaks of Abraham being reckoned as righteous due to his faith in God. Once a person is justified, they should continue to live out their faith by doing works of righteousness. Obedience to God proves whether one's faith is genuine.

Faith is active trust. It is trusting in God for your needs. It is believing that God will fulfill His promises. It is trusting in God to make everything work out according to His good purpose. It is trusting Him to do what is right and just. Trust relies on Yahweh's track record. Since He was trustworthy in the past and since He never changes, then it means that He will always be trustworthy. Therefore, faith is about trusting Yahweh at all times. Trust does not require us to know the "why" and "how" of God's ways or plans. So long as we know that Yahweh is entirely trustworthy, we don't need to know the "how" or "why" in order to trust in Him.

Faith is expressed by our obedience to God's precepts and principles. It takes trust to obey God. When Yahweh ordered Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son, Isaac, Abraham was about to do so unhesitatingly, because he trusted in God's promises. God promised him that his chosen seed would come from Isaac, so Abraham believed that God would still somehow be able to fulfill His promise to him even when he sacrificed Isaac as a burnt offering to God, perhaps by raising Isaac from the dead. When Abraham was about to kill Isaac, Yahweh stopped him. Abraham had passed the test of faith. By his obedience, Abraham had demonstrated his trust in God. His obedience proved that his faith was genuine. This confirmed his right standing with God. As the apostle James said, we're justified by both our faith and works, for faith without works is dead (James 2:19).

The above account of Abraham shows that he lived by his faith. His life was ruled by faith, not by sight. If he lived by sight, then he would have hesitated to sacrifice Isaac and would have thought, "How could I sacrifice Isaac if God promised me that my descendents will come from Isaac?" But since he walked by faith, Yahweh blessed him and his seed after him. Hence, when a righteous person lives by their faith, it doesn't just mean that they're living like any ordinary person who doesn't know God. One who doesn't know God is no better than a brute animal. Rather, it means that the righteous person is living a meaningful life, a blessed life, a life that's lived in the presence of God in fellowship with Him. This is true life. This is the life that Yahweh desires all of us to live.

Yes, "the righteous will live by their faith" is so rich in meaning and application! It's the central theme in the whole of Scriptures. It is a most important truth by which we should all live.

It's faith that sustains us in the presence of God and gives us true life. So as the writer of Hebrews wrote, if we shrink back and depart from faith, God would have no pleasure in us. He is coming to judge all people, including apostates. He has already set a time for judgment, and He will not delay it.

But the writer once again expressed confidence in his and his recipients' salvation. He did not believe that his readers would ever apostatize. They wouldn't be ones who shrink back from faith and be condemned. Instead, they would remain in faith and this will give them salvation of their souls (lives).

Apostasy leads to destruction, whereas faith leads to salvation. The message can't be clearer or simpler. We should never sugarcoat such an important message or the divine condemnation against apostates. The writer sure didn't.

Highlights of Hebrews 10

The animal sacrificial system was temporary and afforded forgiveness and fellowship with God limitedly. It reminded people of their sins day after day, year after year. It's never God's intention for it to be permanent, and it's never what He ultimately desired. Instead, it pointed to the ultimate and complete sacrifice of Christ whose blood thoroughly cleanses us so that we should have the boldness to enter into God's presence in faith, through the veil--Christ's body that was torn for us. This was the very purpose Jesus came into the world--to do God's will in the sacrifice of the body God prepared, Christ's own body.

Our faith must be firm, because it is our faith that justifies us, reconciles us to God and saves us so we'll enter into God's eternal rest. We must never allow ourselves to fall away. Apostasy would lead us to death before the all-consuming God. He has no pleasure in those who reject His Son, which would be akin to trampling His beloved Son underfoot and scorning his precious blood.

It would be expedient for us to maintain our corporal worship with our fellow believers, so that we can encourage one another to keep our faith strong. In those days, believers were severely persecuted. They lost their possessions, were jailed and tortured, and some were executed. But many of them kept firm in their faith, knowing all too well that God will fulfill His promise and resurrect them unto eternal life. That eternal blessing, no one could ever confiscate from them or us.

The righteous shall live by faith. Even if our life may be taken from us cruelly now, we have the promise of eternal life from the God who is fully trustworthy. Therefore, never lose heart, no matter what tremendous trials you may go through. Hold on to your faith for dear life, for indeed, it is your life, eternally!


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: How many times does the Bible tell us to pray every day?

Answer: The Bible does not require us to pray a certain number of times any day. Praying is a part of our relationship with God. Like our relationship with friends, our relationship with God should be genuine. So just as there's no law on how many times we should talk to our friends, there's no law on how many times we should talk to God through prayers.

Pray as many times as you want, whenever you want to or need to talk to God. So every day will be different. But I believe it is a good habit to talk to God at least once a day, so you keep communication open with Him. You can thank Him for a new day, or ask Him to guide you today, etc. Just be genuine.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

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