DRAWING NEAR THROUGH HIS FLESH The consecration was "through the veil, that is to say, His flesh." The tabernacle veil covered the Holiest, or most holy place, forbidding entrance to it, yet was what man passed through to get into the Holiest. From one point of view, it kept men from entering the presence of the Lord, concealing His glory. It was an appointed division between the holy and the most holy (Ex 26:33). It was appropriately called "the veil of COVERING" (Ex 35:12; 39:34; 40:21). Yet, when entrance was made into the Holiest, it was through that very veil (Lev 16:12,15). -- Tomorrow:
"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; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb 10:19-22)
Devotion 7 of 16
" . . . a new and living way, which he hath consecrated FOR US . . . "
The "way" has not only been "consecrated," or "inaugurated" by Jesus, it has been dedicated "FOR US." It is adapted to our needs, and can be fully accessed by us. It is not for angels, but for the redeemed of the Lord. Those in Christ can take this "way" into the very presence of God. Through it, they can "obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need." It is for us! No conscientious effort to come to God by this means will be in vain. A person's past cannot disqualify him/her, if they will take this way! Their weakness cannot prohibit their use of this way, if they will use it. They may be "unlearned and ignorant," but they can take the way – it is for the one journeying to glory. It is, as Isaiah put it, for "wayfaring men"– those who are strangers and pilgrims in the earth (Isa 35:8; 1 Pet 2:11). How good and pleasant to remember, it has been "consecrated for US!"
Christ's "flesh" is like that tabernacle veil. First, it prohibited men's entrance into the presence of the Lord, because it hid His Divine nature. Those Who saw Him as a man could not behold Him as He really is. His humanity obscured His Deity, veiling it from the perception of men. That is why, after over three years of extensive exposure, "Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us'" (John 14:8). After all that time, He had not seen Jesus as possessing the "fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9). Christ answered him, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" (John 14:9). Why had Philip and the rest not seen the Father in Jesus? It was because of His flesh – His appearance as a man. They knew Him "after the flesh," something strictly forbidden now that He has ascended to the Father's right hand (2 Cor 5:16).
But this is not the end of the matter. Now we enter into the presence of the Lord through the veil, "that is to say, His flesh." What once obscured His Person now inducts us into the Lord's presence. Why is the case? And what does this mean? It is Christ's HUMANITY that is the basis for us coming to God. His identity with US has enabled US to come to God! Now we do not see Him as simply a man, but "THE Man, Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 2:5).
The Holy Spirit has been making this point throughout the book of Hebrews, showing us the relevance of the Word's incarnation. God brought His "First begotten into the world" (1:6). He was "made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death" (2:9). He was made "perfect through suffering" (2:10). Because those He came to save were "flesh and blood," He "partook of the same" (2:14). He did not take upon Himself "the nature of angels; but he took on Him the seed of Abraham" (2:16). In "all things" He was made like unto those He came to save, suffering temptation in all points, like them (2:15).
This is not a sentimental view, designed to merely tug at our hearts. Rather, in His humanity, God was making provision for us to come to Him – to enter into His presence. We come to God because of Christ's accomplishments as a Man. We do not come upon the basis of our merits. God cannot be approached because you have done enough, or done it right, or performed it frequently enough. I understand that moral purity is a requisite, from one point of view; i.e., "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully" (Psa 24:3-4). That, however, is a condition realized only by coming to God through Christ in the first place. No person can cleanse their own hands – no person! Of ourselves, we cannot avoid lifting up our souls to vanity. We must enter the Presence of the Lord through Christ's flesh – His humanity, or His identity with us. That is another way of saying we enter through the substitutionary death of Christ, which was the reason for Him becoming one of us. He was "made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death"!
Because Christ both died and was glorified as a Man, we can now come before the Lord. We can obtain what He has to give us, all of which is embodied in the term "great salvation." But you must enter through the "flesh" of Christ – through the merits of His death! Only He has done enough to justify you from your sins, and enable you to come to God. This is the truth to which Jesus referred when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6). If Jesus were not at the right hand of God – as a glorified Man – we could not come into God's presence. We could not obtain mercy, or find grace to help in the time of need. We would be locked into a lifeless procedure that brought no real benefit to us – neither forgiveness of sins nor eternal life could thereby be possessed.
God be praised for Christ's effective work and our glorious deliverance from such things! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the power of the enemy! We have been blessed! Let us live in that blessing.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for removing the veil that kept us from entering into Your presence.