Good evening to everyone. You can turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 13. If you've been here the last couple Lord's Day evenings, the previous two, we looked first a couple Sundays ago at the anatomy of a salutation, the greeting or the introduction to a particular letter. Last Lord's Day, we looked at the anatomy of a doxology, that which was at the end of Jude, Words of praise rendered to God and so tonight we're going to continue that similar theme and look at the anatomy of a benediction in Hebrews 13 you'll remember a benediction is a simple definition is a good word you Probably recognize that word diction from our word dictionary words and bene meaning good in the Latin so a benediction is a good word and And in a religious context, and let's just say, of course, in the Christian context, it's used, benediction is sort of formally a divine invocation of blessing for the people of God.
And we find one of those here in Hebrews 13 at verse 20. So you can find your finger or your eyes there, Hebrews 13, verse 20. I'll read verses 20 and 21, and then we'll pray. This is the word of God.
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep Through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do his will Working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen Let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this time in worship, the preaching of your word. We thank you for this time in worship, generally speaking, blessedly speaking, as we can gather together as the saints of Christ to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the one and only living and true God, and to rejoice in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we would pray once again that you'd help us by your spirit to acknowledge your word, to rejoice in it, to glory in it, to glory in the Christ to whom it points, and we pray that in this act of worship now you would be honored and glorified, and we pray in Christ's name. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we just noted, we have here a benediction given by the Apostle Paul at the end of this letter to the Hebrews, and it's a glorious way to end a glorious epistle. As we've had many occasion to say in the past, in the book of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul is setting forth the superabounding excellence of Jesus Christ over all of those institutions of old covenant religion that came before him and that ultimately pointed to him. He is the the surety of a better covenant. He is that one, the champion of our salvation, that all of those mosaical institutions pointed to, and the argument of the Apostle Paul in the Epistle is essentially, why would you go back to those things that pointed forward to this one who has come, instead of simply resting blessedly in the one who has come.
Why would you go back to shadow when the substance is here? Why would you go back to copy when the true is here? Why would you go back to type when the blessed anti-type, the Lord Jesus Christ, has come? And throughout the course of the epistle, he's exhorting these Hebrew Christians to remain steadfast in the faith that had been given to them by God, their faith in Christ, and that in the face of much opposition by a hating world, primarily unbelieving Jews, their own family, their own countrymen, their own religious leaders, formerly speaking.
And here, a glorious way to end the Epistle, and notice just before this, the Apostle Paul at verse 18 asks for prayer for himself, for the apostles. He says, he writes, pray for us, for we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things, desiring to live honorably. But I especially urge you to do this, that is to pray for them, that I may be restored to you the sooner. So following after a prayer request, he in return, renders a prayer to God, provides them with this prayerful, divine invocation that they might receive the blessing of God.
And so let's have a look at a number of things, at the anatomy of this particular benediction, what we find here in these wonderful words by the Apostle Paul. We'll just move through these six things as we look at this passage.
The Divine Title: God of Peace
The first thing we want to look at is the divine title. The divine title is given to us, as we see here in verse 20, Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead. Isn't that a wonderful divine title? As we read the Holy Scriptures, we find a number of ways in which God often refers to himself in the manner that he does such as he identifies himself very often according to his glorious works that he has done. and the biblical authors likewise will do that, and we find a number of identifiers like this throughout the Holy Scripture, the God of glory, the God of glory thunders, the God of hope, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see a number of these divine titles, whether self-ascribed by God or given by the authors of Holy Scripture under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and they speak to something with respect to God. And here we see, first off, in the first clause, now, may the God of peace. Paul's request is, may the God of peace make them complete in every good work. And this is a wonderful identifier of our God, the God of peace.
You know, in a world marked by such havoc and such chaos and such wickedness and evil and madness,
Peace with God Through Justification
isn't it a blessed thing to know that we have a God of peace, a God who can bring peace to the heart, a God that can bring tranquility of mind to his people? What a hopeless world it is to not believe in the God of Holy Scripture, because then, man, this chaos, this havoc, this wickedness, this is it. This is what we're in. There is no divine, glorious One over us.
If one excludes from the contemplations of their mind any God whatsoever, or the Christian God, there's nothing but havoc, there's nothing but chaos, there's nothing but disorder, there's nothing but madness and wickedness. But there is a God in high heaven, and He is the God of peace. And the Apostle Paul, I believe, rightly uses, Obviously he does because he's under divine inspiration, penning the letter to the Hebrews. But one of the reasons he's using this language here is because of the context that these Hebrew Christians found themselves in.
You can turn back to Hebrews 10 for a moment. Hebrews chapter 10. Notice in Hebrews 10 at verse 32, but recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, after you came to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, after you were regenerated by the Holy Spirit and given faith, recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. So, we see that these Hebrew Christians, and Hebrews at this time, or excuse me, Christians at this time, and Christians throughout the ages, but specifically in this context, they were persecuted, they were opposed.
They went through many a struggle at the hands of ungodly opposers. And so, at the end of this epistle, Paul calls upon the God of peace, to make these Christians complete in every good work. In the face of your opposers, in the face of your persecutors, in the face of a hating world, lean upon the God of peace. And may you, the God of peace, bring blessing and bring peace and tranquility mind to these who are here and often it's a it's a spiritual peace that's in view but sometimes not sometimes God is always the author of all peace and he is the author of a physical peace as well and and no doubt he can bring such things to his people, but I think in this contemplation of the God of peace, our minds should move from the earthly, that is, those things that take place with respect to the physical man, and lift our hearts up here a moment to those higher spiritual things of what peace with God is, and what the God of peace ultimately and finally means.
Remember in the promise of That verse we often read or contemplate around the time of Christmas. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, the government will be upon his shoulder, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. What a wonderful title for the coming Christ, and it speaks to the point, one of the weightiest matters of the import of this language of the God of peace as the one who brings reconciliation between God and men. Isn't this the blessedness of the peace that we know as Christians?
As glorious as peace in this lower world is, and as wonderful as peace between brothers and sisters is, the greatest peace that we can know is the peace that obtains by virtue of the perfect work of Jesus Christ. That one who Paul refers to elsewhere as using the language of he himself is our peace. Remember the language of the holy angels at the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the angels of God are worshipping this newborn babe, this one who is a deity veiled in flesh, and they sing in their worship to the babe, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
That on earth peace is not a nationalistic peace, though that is glorious, and God is the bringer of that. But it speaks to justification by faith alone. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Christians reflect, we can reflect upon ourselves, our former selves, where we violated the law of God in that state of total depravity, total inability, always walking in opposition to God, not seeking after Him, not blessing Him with our lips, but wholly opposed to God. We can think back upon that, and we can realize that we stood under the very wrath and condemnation of God. But what a blessing to know this side of amazing grace that we are justified, not by deeds of righteousness which we have done, but by virtue of the perfect deeds of the Lord Jesus Christ. His doing, His dying, and His rising again.
We have peace with God because of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the God of peace brings peace to his people. Paul often uses this particular title for God in his epistles. One of the very interesting ones, and actually this is, I think, one of the many arguments for the authorship of the book of Hebrews, the Pauline authorship for the book of Hebrews, because he is particularly and exclusively the only author in the New Testament who employs this language, the God of peace, as an identifier for God.
Pauline Usage of 'God of Peace'
In Romans 15, in Romans 16, and in 1 Thessalonians 5, and in Philippians 4, he uses this descriptor for God. One of the interesting ones is in Romans 6 Romans 6 20 the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet Sometimes and especially with the divine wholesome violence brings about peace and And with respect to our God, we can count on our blessed divine triune, the God of peace, that when this lower world is marked by such chaos and havoc, God can bring peace as the one who crushes Satan under his feet. Those who oppose his church, those who oppose all goodness which comes from God, God can oppose himself and bring about peace. This wonderful second clause that we have with respect to this divine title is glorious as well.
God Who Raised Jesus from the Dead
Now, may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead. in the apostolic preaching in the early church. This is something that, for example, Peter spoke about much with regards to the God who raised up our Lord Jesus, the God who raised up the one whom you, Jews, crucified and put to death. The God of peace is the one who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead. And as we'll note as we move along here shortly, this is the manner by which peace is brought to the souls of God's elect.
It is by virtue of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you were here this morning, remember then why it is absolutely so vital for us to lay hold of the doctrine of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the Apostle Paul's argument. If there is no resurrection of the dead, generally speaking, then Christ is not risen.
And then, therefore, your faith is futile, and we are among all men the most pitiable. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is most certainly true, and it is the very ground of peace that we have with God, because it is that divine act that stamps, if you will, or that vindicates the perfection of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, proof positive, that the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number is God raising the champion of our salvation from the dead on the third day. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. This further identifier is to show the sovereign authority of God in evidencing peace has been made by the death of Christ.
This is John Owen. This is the great and ultimate end of the reconciliation made by Christ, namely, that God might be our God in covenant, whereunto peace with him is an inseparable consequent. Isn't that glorious to know that with Christ we are inseparable from the God of peace? Nothing can take us away from the love of Christ, nothing can steal us away from the sovereign grip of the God of peace, because Christ, the Son of God, has effected peace for his people.
Another Owen quote, the resurrection of Christ was God's declaration of the accomplishment and acceptance of the work of reconciliation as the payment of our debt and the procurement of our peace. When Christ rises again the third day, it is again proof positive that his work, that when he said it is finished, He meant it, that was true. He had perfected the salvation of a multitude of sinners. Blessed peace that we have through God, by God, by virtue of the one that he raised from the dead, and by virtue of the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Mediatorial Title: Great Shepherd
Now, secondly, we have this mediatorial title given to us. Now may the God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, It's a wonderful, there's sort of a... an interruption, if you will, to the flow of the benediction here to further identify the Lord Jesus, the reference to the Lord Jesus in the resurrection there. There's a comma, obviously, there, and we see that great shepherd of the sheep, comma, referring back to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we need to stop a moment at this particular point with regards to this mediatorial title and reflect upon the greatness it is to have Christ as a shepherd.
One of the things that's in view here is the promise of God in the Old Testament that there will no longer be all of these wicked and terrible shepherds who were leading the nation of Israel. There is a divine promise made in Ezekiel with regards to God himself being the shepherd of his people.
Shepherd Promise in Ezekiel 34
In fact, you can turn back there for a moment, Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34 just to see this connection. It's not just a it's not just you know the Apostle Paul saying hey, you know what let's Let's use the language of Shepherd here. That would be cool Paul is reaching back into the Old Testament and pulling out psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want that language of yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and with regards to God being the shepherd with his crook and with his rod, securing the safety of his sheep and protecting them. Ezekiel 34 as well. And notice in Ezekiel 34, once I find myself there, in Ezekiel 34, notice what we read at verse 11. We've already, prior to this, there's been an elaboration upon the wicked shepherds, the irresponsible shepherds, if your uninspired sort of chapter summary says that at the top.
These irresponsible wicked shepherds who were misleading the nation of Israel ill treating them to put it lightly We have this promise at verse 11 for thus says the Lord God indeed I myself will search for my sheep and Seek them out as a shepherd seeks out his own flock on the day His flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered and on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel.
Isn't that wonderful, a wonderful promise of God? With regards to this Pauline language of that good shepherd of the sheep, I think we are to see the word that, there, used instead of just the great shepherd of the sheep, as pointing back to that great shepherd of the sheep. Paul is drawing the finger back, pointing back to old covenant promise, And speaking to that Hebrew audience, this is the promised great shepherd. This is the promised good and great shepherd who would deliver his people.
And notice the language at verse 25, connected still to the language of Shepard. I will make a covenant of peace with them and cause wild beasts to cease from the land. There's a connection. The Apostle Paul is not operating in a vacuum when he's writing that.
He's pointing back to Ezekiel. He's pointing back to this covenant of peace that we'll speak about in a moment, connecting the great shepherd of the sheep, the champion of the covenant, to that very covenant peace. These Hebrews found themselves in the midst of wild beasts, those wicked religious leaders who were no shepherds at all, but much rather wild beasts surrounding the people of God seeking to bring spoil to Christianity.
Christ as the Promised Shepherd
So back to Hebrews chapter 13, this language of great shepherd of the sheep points to the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't we have evidence for the deity of Christ everywhere? Ezekiel 34 is speaking with regards to God, saying that I will be, in essence, the great shepherd of my sheep. Here in Hebrews 13, Paul is describing that reality to Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep. Even when there is no, you know, there is no deliberate Point on the part of the author to be arguing for the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ it nevertheless comes out why? because Jesus is God the second of the blessed triune equal with the Father and the Spirit the Spirit in the glorious oneness of of the divine essence.
So we have this blessed mediatorial title. Owen writes, the Lord Christ is the great and good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep and who by the power of his spirit and grace leads them in the paths of righteousness and preserves them unto eternal life. You know, it's not only that, and as glorious as it is, it's not only that the shepherd died for his sheep, but that after dying for his sheep, he continues, by grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to feed his sheep. He doesn't leave his sheep alone after dying for them, but rather is with them, even unto the end of the age, feeding them, giving them the nourishment, giving them his spirit and grace, them in the paths of righteousness.
The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant
Notice thirdly here, we have this language of the foundation of the resurrection. So the divine title, the mediatorial title, and then now the foundation for the resurrection. Notice, back at our benediction, now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Now, We can ask the question here.
Does through the blood of the everlasting covenant go with that great shepherd of the sheep? In other words, are we to read it this way, the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. In other words, Christ is the great shepherd of the sheep by virtue of or by means of the blood of the everlasting covenant. Or are we to read that as through the blood of the everlasting covenant, May the God of peace make you complete in every good work.
Is that what we're supposed to read with regards to this? I think we are to see it as connected to the previous clause that the resurrection, that the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead, is by virtue of Christ perfecting the everlasting covenant in his blood. So in other words, that work of the Lord Jesus Christ is that which is vindicated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The perfecting of the shedding of the blood of the everlasting covenant is that which brings about, if you will, the means whereby the blessed resurrection takes place.
In other simple words, Christ died, and Christ rose again, and His resurrection is the vindication of the perfection of His death. That's why we are to see such glory in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His living, because He obeyed the law in the stead of all who believe in His name, perfectly He obeyed that. In His death, because dying, He bore the wrath and the curse of God in our place, in the stead of all who believe.
And in that rising, in that vindication of the perfection of His work, God puts that stamp of blessed approval upon the perfection of the work of his son. What is meant here, though, by the blood of the everlasting covenant? Through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Covenant of Grace, Not Redemption
Is this the covenant of redemption? Or is this the covenant of grace. I think some differ with regards to this, but I believe as Owen says, this is a reference to the covenant of grace because the covenant of redemption required no ratification in blood, but the covenant of grace does. The covenant of grace is that which, is that covenant made whereby the Lord Jesus Christ would be the champion of the elect of God and he would become that champion, he would be that champion and secure the salvation of a multitude by the shedding of his blood.
And there's a contrast being made here, a blessed contrast between the blood shed with respect to the old covenant and the blood shed with respect to the new covenant or the covenant of grace ratified. The everlasting covenant here, Christ sheds the blood of the everlasting covenant in contrast to those, in contrast to the blood shed according to the old covenant.
Old Covenant Blood vs. New Covenant Blood
In Hebrews chapter 9, we read this at verse starting at verse 18, Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. Then likewise, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry, and according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." And so Paul, in a letter where he's trying to ensure that Christians do not apostatize back to Judaism, of course no true Christian could or can, but writing this letter in the face of this danger to Christians, He is dealing with the divinely designed cessation of, that is, the divinely designed end to the old covenant in all of those mosaic articles of religion and their fulfillment in Christ. that by the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats, there is no remission of sin. That was an old covenant ratification.
The covenant, the everlasting covenant is that which is ratified by the perfect blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there is a comparison being drawn here between the old covenant or the Mosaic covenant and the covenant of grace. And what a wonderful language, the blood of the everlasting covenant. That with the work of Christ, we have a salvation, a perfect salvation of everlastingness.
Have you ever thought about that in the context of man's eternal soul? There is an everlastingness that obtains with regards to divine judgment eternally. Those outside of Christ, in opposition to Christ, in unbelief, are cast into the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels everlastingly. They are not covered by the blood of the everlasting covenant.
And then we look at ourselves, and once again, we recall our former selves. We recall even our present selves after amazing grace, marked ever and always by remaining corruption until that blessed day when we're brought into glory. And we can see that we rely every day upon the shed blood of the everlasting covenant. Praise God and praise Christ that the Son of God came into this world to assume our humanity to live for us, to die for us, to rise again for us, to shed the blood of the everlasting covenant.
The foundation for the resurrection is this shedding of the blood of the everlasting covenant. Oh, and again, had not the will of God been satisfied, atonement made for sin, the church sanctified, the law accomplished, and the threatening satisfied, Christ could not have been brought again from the dead. But the will of God had been satisfied, atonement had been made for sin, The church has been sanctified, the law was accomplished, and the threatening satisfied. And that means, of course, that Christ has been raised from the dead.
Some of the most blessed words ever spoken by angels is, He is risen. Remember that language at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the angels speaking to the disciples, the women as well, at the empty tomb? This language of be not afraid, and those wonderful three words in the English, he is risen. Wonderful thing.
Not only annually or once a year as we gather together for an Easter Sunday, something like that, but each and every Lord's Day, we gather together on the Lord's Day by virtue of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the day on which the Lord was raised from the dead. And we have those blessed three words that we ought to write eternally upon our Christian hearts. He is risen.
Blessed words spoken. As we move on along now and look towards a close,
Petition for Completeness in Obedience
we want to see fourthly here the petition for completeness in Christian obedience. Gets here a little bit to the point of the prayer. the way that the Apostle Paul is moving here, what he wants the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead to do for his people. Notice, now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is well-pleasing in his sight. So there is this petition, this petition being made to God by Paul that these Hebrew Christians would be made complete in every good work to do His will.
This language of to be made complete, it's rendered elsewhere in some versions also as to be made perfect. That doesn't speak to absolute and essential and actual perfection. It has the language, and perhaps in this context, of being made fit or being made meat for something, fit and able for something. And so we read here that Paul petitioning God to make us fit and able in every good work to do the will of God.
What does this mean then? I think those two first words are important in verse 21, make you, that God would make you or that God would make us. What does that mean? We require divine enabling to do the will of God.
We don't wake up in the morning and rest upon our brilliance and the strength of our own ability and our own power and our own, you know, mastery over ourselves and nature and everything else. What do we rest on? We rest on God daily. As we raise our heads in the morning, we rest upon the God of creation and providence and redemption.
And with respect to the doing of the will of God, we're not resting upon ourselves, but we have to pray to our blessed God that he would enable us for the work that he would have us to do in this lower world. And hopefully that's your prayer. We can go about our days just sometimes so nonchalantly or without regard to God, and we need to steel ourselves back to the reality that we rest upon God daily, and we ought to come to him daily and daily often, in order to plead for fresh resources as we go about our lives in this lower world. We're not going to get them from each other.
We're certainly not going to get them from ourselves. We need those resources from on high. We need those graces. We need those mercies.
We need that strength from on high for us to be able to endure. in this lower world, the necessity of divine enabling in our doing of the will of God. Owen writes, he designs the application of the grace of God through the mediation of Christ unto our sanctification. This has in view our sanctification in the midst, in the case of the Hebrews, in the midst of these family opposers, in the midst of these countrymen opposers, in the midst of so much opposition, and persecution. You are not to revile when you are reviled, but you are to respond with grace in your hearts, working in you, or doing that which is pleasing in the sight of God.
With regards to the danger of apostasy, with regards to the danger of falling away, you are to pray that God would make you complete in every good work to do His will. this language probably first, we have the enabling of God for us to do the will of God, and then the actual doing of the thing that is willed or that we are enabled for, making you complete or making us fit and able in every good work to do his will, and then working in us what is well-pleasing in the sight of God. So not only are we divinely enabled to do the thing, but God helps us to do the thing. Remember, Paul in the book of Philippians speaks with regards to that.
God Works in Us to Will and to Do
In Philippians chapter 2, after giving that glorious exemplar of the Lord Jesus Christ in his incarnation as the perfection of humility, We read in Philippians 2 at verse 12, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for his good pleasure. So we are enabled by God in order to do good works, and by the virtue of God working in us to will and to do, we do that which is pleasing in his sight. And notice as we find our way back to the benediction, that this comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen.
What does this language of through Jesus Christ means? It could mean one of two things, or it could mean both things. It could mean that by virtue of or through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are enabled to do the good works that God calls us to do. In other words, Christ at the right hand of the majesty on high is the one who sends his spirit to his people.
By virtue of that sending of the spirit of God and the grace of Christ, we are enabled to do those works that we're called to do. It could also be that Those good works that are pleasing in the sight of God are acceptable through the mediator. Remember that our prayers go up to God and our good works, our spiritual oblations or our sacrifices to God in this lower world, our Christian service, goes to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. They're made acceptable.
They are sweet-smelling aromas, not because we render the spiritual sacrifices, but because they go through the Mediator Christ to God by virtue of the perfection of Christ's mediation. So, this could mean one of those two things or both. The good works that we're enabled to do come to us by virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit sent by the risen and exalted Christ, and those good works go back to God through the mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're made acceptable to God by virtue of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Doxology to Christ
And to close, we see that this doxology is given to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. This doxology, isn't it interesting, the benediction is closed with a doxology. This good word given, this divine invocation prayed by the apostle Paul to God, written to the Hebrews, that the God of peace would make them complete in every good work, it closes with this doxology to Christ.
Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen in the simple exercise of a doxology. There is the the clear argument for the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ but the point here is that this glorious one who shed the blood of the everlasting covenant who was raised from the dead by the power of God is to receive a glory forever and ever. Amen.
What does that mean? We noted last time. It means that we, as the people of God, as the people of Christ, are to recognize the divine perfections of God, which are the divine perfections of the Son of God, this Jesus Christ, and return our praises back to God for the perfection of Christ's divinity. It's also the fact that we are to reflect upon those extrinsic glories, or those extrinsic things, the manifestation of God's perfections outwardly, namely, the death and resurrection here of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Christian minds are to engage in sweet contemplations of the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He lived for us, that He died for us, that He rose again for us, and we are to give glory to that Christ for the exercise of the perfections of righteousness, holiness, justice, love, mercy, goodness, and all of those blessed things that accord with truth. And we are simply and generally to lift our Christian hearts to the worship of this blessed God, the God of peace, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. who has blessed us with such a glorious salvation in Jesus Christ, bringing peace to our hearts, bringing peace between God and us, both parties at odds, God rightly, us wrongly, God, by the work of the Son, by the shedding of the blood of the everlasting covenant, has made peace. Remember, Paul uses that language in Colossians, having made peace by the blood of his cross. Wonderful thing.
We have peace by virtue of the blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, this blood of the everlasting covenant. And so let us return praises to God. Let us give glory to Christ, not just now, the text says now and forever. Isn't it a blessed thing that we can now give glory to Christ, but we will forever give glory to Christ. as we're brought into Emmanuel's land on that blessed and last day, we'll enter in with all the saints of every age and all the holy angels, we'll enter into praises to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever.
Our Christ will be there, very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man, and we'll praise the Lamb eternally. singing with those holy angels, glory to God in the highest.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We rejoice in your word to us. We thank you for this benediction.
We rejoice in you, our God of peace. We rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfection of that shed blood of the everlasting covenant. We rejoice in his resurrection from the dead. We rejoice in the salvation that you have freely given.
We thank you for your blessing us with these things, not by virtue of deeds which we have done, but according to your mercy, according to the washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of the shed blood and the perfect work of Christ. Go with us. for the remainder of this day. Go with us into this week. Help us by your enabling to do those things that are well-pleasing in your sight and might all glory be given to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.