JESUS AND MOSES COMPARED -- Tomorrow:
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all His house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Heb 3:1-6)
Devotion 9 of 12
" . . . whose house are we . . . "
The point of this treatise is to increase the confidence of the readers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They had allowed teachers to turn them from God's appointed Person to procedures, from grace to Law, and from the Son to a lifeless religious system. In salvation, our status changes. We are "translated into the kingdom of God's Son" (Col 1:13). We have not been called to a discipline, but to a Person. Our primary relationship is not to an institution, but to the Lord and His Christ.
In what sense is the Son "OVER" His house? For some, it is in the sense of Lordship. In a sense this is certainly true – but this is not the sense of our text. I often hear the people of God told they should "submit to the Lordship of Christ." All of this is spoken as though believers were really not reconciled to God. They are addressed as though their basic propensity is away from Christ. Left to themselves, they are told they would surely drift into darkness. It is as though they had not been born again, and were not really regenerated. Thus, they are told to "submit," as though they had not already done so. This is the mentality that dictates the view of the Son being "over" His house in the sense of being Lord over it.
It is needful to remind you of the real status of believers. Although "we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another," that is not the case with us now! Now, "the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind" has "appeared." In that kindness, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Tit 3:3-7, NASB).
The transformation was real, constituting us "new creations" in Christ Jesus. "Old things passed away," and everything became "new" (2 Cor 5:17). Isaiah prophesied of this remarkable change. The condition of the people, as well as their character, would be changed. "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes" (Isa 35:5-7). Those who can see ought not be addressed as though they were blind! People that can leap should not hear sermons that represent them as lame! Those who can sing are not to be considered dumb.
Where waters break forth, and streams are found, we no longer speak of the wilderness and desert. That is why the Apostles consistently referred to believers as people who had been changed by the grace of God. Even though they often had deficiencies, they were addressed as people that had been changed. " . . . you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints" (Rom 1:6-7, NASB). " . . . to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor 1:2, NASB). "you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor 6:11, NASB). " . . . In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight" (Eph 1:7,8, NASB). "He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:13,14, NASB). This should suffice to confirm the point that is being made.
What does this have to do with the Son being "OVER" His house? A great deal, indeed. As the Divinely appointed Householder, the Son of God is in charge of the household. His role is to feed, equip, and protect the people of God. He leads them in the paths of righteousness, opens the eyes of their understanding, and mediates the Covenant to them. They are answerable to Him, to be sure, and will give an account of the things they have done in the body, whether they are good or evil (2 Cor 5:10). There can be no diminishment of this perspective in our hearts. However, the most powerful motivation for godliness is not accountability, but insight into Divine provision. When speaking of his unusual labors in the Kingdom, Paul traced it back to "the grace of God," not an awareness of being answerable to the Lord (1 Cor 15:10).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for adding me to the household that is fed and cared for by Your Son.