Hebrews Chapter Eight, Superiority

 

Hebrews 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

 

Turning from Hebrews, we will find the apostle Paul’s testimony about the glory of the old and the new covenant in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians. Pausing on his explanation to the church at Corinth will be edifying for the verse we’re presently on, so we will go at length into his discussion.

“[God] also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life,” 2 Corinthians 3:6. We know that the new covenant was enacted by the shedding of our Lord’s blood to pay the ransom for mankind’s sin, Mark 14:24. The covenants, then, are valued by the merit of the blood both victims shed. The Son of God’s blood was infinitely more meritorious than that of bulls or goats.

 

The letter Paul makes mention of is in reference to the Torah, the body of commandments prescribed to the Jews by Yahweh on Horeb. There seems to be something of a misconception in passages such as these, taken out of context by some sects of Pentecostals or Catholic Mystics. The idea is that the letter, or doctrine, kills, while the Spirit—that is, fresh or personal manifestations of Him—brings life. Fundamental, orthodox Christianity is turned on its head by this notion, a rather unbiblical one since teachers and common Christians’ confessions of faith are to be measured by the very doctrine such sects oppose, see 1 John 2:26, 2 John 9, 10.

 

The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, and it is everything the Christian needs for faith and practice in this life. He would only and always lead His children to the word of God, because He is the Spirit of God. The only way one may test the spirits, as John commends, is by a proper understanding of Scripture, rejecting supposed professors that do not agree with revealed truth, 1 John 4:1-3, 6. Ephesians also relates that Christ gave, among other gifts, evangelists and teachers to the church for it’s equipping. They are given to the end that the body of Christ may mature in knowledge and not be hoodwinked by contrary doctrine emanating from the deceitfulness of the sinful human heart, Ephesians 4:11-14. This may only occur if sound doctrine is faithfully taught and obeyed.

 

I once heard an officer specializing in counterfeit bills say that he didn’t study the counterfeit currency; he focused his attention on genuine bills. Having such an intimate understanding of the genuine article made him wise to what was fraudulent, because it didn’t feel like the real thing. So too will sound doctrine protect those who adhere to it, since it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, or God-breathed.

 

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?” 2 Corinthians 3:7, 8. Paul plainly calls the Law the ministry of death.

 

To prevent any misunderstandings, Paul refers to the ministry of death as being written and engraved upon stones, as received by Moses from the finger of God on Mt. Sinai. Like the divine appointment of the tabernacle read in Hebrews and Exodus, Paul still calls the ministry of death glorious. The Law revealed God’s perfect nature and flawless justice to mankind. But His holiness was unapproachable, and our sin nature disqualified anyone from being able to keep the Law, Acts 15:10, Galatians 2:16.

 

The radiance Moses received while on the mount was a picture of the holiness of God’s revealed will. One look at it and we blush and have to turn away. Only the most deluded or proud can think for a moment that they can keep the Law and earn Heaven. The Law’s radiance did not encourage comfort; it induced fear because it revealed the impassable gulf between a holy God and sinful man. It did not form a bridge to connect one to the other; it was a frightening light revealing the sorrowful estate Israel, and Adam’s entire race, was in.

 

The very notion of the glory passing away or expiring, betrays its temporal nature; a fact solidified more clearly in 2 Corinthians 3:11. Israel’s obedience to the Law was not forever, just like no man stays under a tutor his entire life. We learn beneath a schoolmaster while we are young; upon reaching adulthood we enter into the responsibility of employing what we have learned for the betterment of our lives. The Law taught, but could not save. It explained, but could not provide the power necessary for obedience.

 

The ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the ministry of death. Christ offered Himself to the Father through the Holy Spirit, Hebrews 9:14. And it is that same Holy Spirit who comes to seal every believer and live in us, to provide us with power to obey that the flesh cannot produce. He provides power because His presence changes the foundations of our motivation. Love replaces ambition, and gratitude supplants fear. His ministry is far more glorious.

 

“For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels, For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious,” 2 Corinthians 3:9-11. In verse 7 Paul called the Law the ministry of death; now he refers to it as the ministry of condemnation. To condemn means to judge, or to find guilty. It conveys a punitive atmosphere, one that is not conducive to our wellbeing, Colossians 2:14.

 

The apostle contrasts the covenants, finding that the first’s glory is bankrupt by way of comparison to the new covenant of Christ’s shed blood for the forgiveness of sin. Again the apostle refers to the Law as “passing away,” connoting the idea of expiration or termination. Why? Because Christ fulfilled the Law in perfect obedience. While Israel was under Law the way into the Holiest of All was not open, Hebrews 9:8. Direct access to the Father had not been accomplished through the Atonement, and so the Old Testament saints awaited in Paradise for Messiah the Prince to accomplish through His blood what the Law could not: namely, perfecting those who through faith come to Him. In Christ we have access to the Father by faith.

 

The new covenant is “what remains.” When the Law departs the Son remains. The shadow is eclipsed by the arrival of the substance. No more waiting was necessary, and this urgent and invaluable message was something the Hebrew Christians desperately needed to hear, since they were slipping and drifting into legalism once again, Hebrews 2:1. Our Lord’s priesthood is eternal, and His sacrifice efficacious to the uttermost. If John’s gospel was written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and to place our faith in Him, the writer of Hebrews penned his epistle as a commentary, or Midrash, on Old Testament Christology. His mantra, though unspoken, is woven throughout every chapter: Christ is better.