JESUS AND MOSES COMPARED " . . . As the head over God's house, the exalted Christ cares and provides for the children of God – those who have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col 1:13). However, that care and provision will be directly proportionate to the maintenance of "the rejoicing of the hope." These are the means through which identity with Christ's house are realized. It is interesting to note the extreme rarity of these qualities in our time. -- 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)
If our hearts are not affected by this great salvation, we will not be succored by the Head of the house! Our tenderness makes us able to receive His nourishment! Our sensitivity to His presence is the means through which Divine resources are received. Our "fellowship" with the Son (1 Cor 1:9) is the appointed environment in which nourishment from the Head can be ministered (Col 2:19). Those experiential areas (tender hearts, spiritual sensitivity, and fellowship with the Son) produce "confidence and the boast of our hope." A sense of security grips our hearts when we walk with Christ.
Hope becomes a jewel, nestled in our hearts, as we commune with Him. We are thus His house, becoming those to whom He ministers, in a "dry and thirsty land, where no water is" (Psa 63:1). "We are saved by hope," i.e., it provides the incentive to separate ourselves from the world and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord (Rom 8:24,25; 2 Cor 7:1-2).
Sanctification is too often preached from Mount Sinai – imposed as a duty upon men. To be sure, without holiness, "no man shall see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). The Holy Spirit declares the way this is accomplished, and it is related to hope. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3, NRSV). From the standpoint of our text, this joyous hope is what identifies as Christ's house! That has some arresting implications!
This confident hope requires interaction with the Son, for Whom we wait. How will we be able to hold out to the anticipated day of His return? For many, this is too challenging. They do not believe it is possible to endure the hardships of life, meet the demands of the Law, and labor in the Lord's vineyard. It all looks too difficult, and thus they give up. Those with sensitive hearts already know you cannot mandate faithfulness under these circumstances; i.e., it cannot be accomplished by Law. Moses cannot give us what we require!
We need a greater than Moses! This is the point of our text. We have found such a One in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. By virtue of our confidence in Him and anticipation of His return, we are in His house. He will see to it that we finish the race! He will underwrite our efforts, feeble though they may be. He is the Finisher as well as the Author of our faith! He is the End as well as the Beginning, and the Last as well as the First. You cannot be in His house and have deficient provisions! It simply is not possible!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the invigorating and sustaining power of hope.