“Who, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3.
In considering
this verse, Murray wants us to see that the work of Christ “…consists in two
parts: the one on earth, the other in heaven.” The purification of sins
speaks to us of Christ’s work on earth, the Crucifixion and all that it entails;
the sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty directs our attention to
Christ’s work in heaven. Murray writes that, “In a healthy Christian life we
must know and hold fast both parts of Christ’s work.”
My own sense is
that it is better to view the work of Christ as seamless in heaven and earth,
and in earth and heaven; but the merit in Murray’s pastoral approach is to try
to get us to ponder not only what Christ has done on earth, but also
what Christ is doing in heaven. Murray continues:
“The work He
did upon earth was but a beginning of the work He was to do in heaven; in the
latter the work on earth finds its perfection and its glory. As Priest He
completed the cleansing of sins here below; as Priest-King He sits on the right
hand of the throne to apply His work, in heavenly power to dispense its blessings,
and maintain within us the heavenly life.” Note Murray’s continued
emphasis on the heavenly life within us. We will see how Christ applies
His work as we progress through Hebrews.
Murray writes, “The
full acceptance of the cleansing of sins…will be to us…the entrance into the
heavenly life.” Murray tells us that God’s desire to cleanse us from our
sins is “so intense that He gave His Son to die…”
While the glory
of Christ’s perfect work unfolds in our progression through Hebrews, I’d like
us to note the words ”full acceptance”, for it seems to me that many of
us struggle with fully accepting the fact that Jesus Christ has indeed fully
cleansed us of our sins.
I still recall a
Sunday morning message that I preached many years ago on 1 John 1:1 – 2:2. Included
in this passage is:
“If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness…And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins…”
After the service
various people in the congregation came up to me to tell me that they had never
realized there were these precious promises of God in Christ. This struck me because
many of these people had been in the church for years, some were leaders; and I
knew that the pastor before me, and at least one pastor before him, were
committed to Christ and His Gospel. Since then I have encountered this reaction
many times, in various settings, including in settings which purport to
emphasize the fundamentals of the Gospel.
In some settings
people know the right things to say about forgiveness of sins, but their lives
do not manifest the assurance of what they say, for they continue to functionally
frame life in terms of their forgiveness and salvation being contingent upon
themselves. In other settings preachers and teachers may preach the above
passage from First John, or passages such as Romans 5:1 – 11, but then they
undermine Christ’s perfect work of salvation by creating salvific insecurities
in people by making them think that there is still something that a man or
woman can add to “seal the salvific deal.” Perhaps there is a “higher”
revelation, a greater teaching, a consummating experience, that a person must
have to be fully accepted by God in Christ.
I can’t pretend
to understand why this failure to accept the work of Christ is so, but I do know
that I constantly encounter it among people who should know better. I agree
with Murray that we must fully accept the glory, in Christ, of the forgiveness
of our sins if we are to know the glorious heavenly life of Jesus Christ. Murray
tells us that God’s love for us, and His desire to cleanse us of our sins, was “so
intense that He gave His Son to die.”
Can we glimpse
this intensity in Romans 5:8 – 10?
“But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall
be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we
were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Why cannot we
live securely in the love of our Great and Wonderful God? What can we possibly
add to such a glorious and wondrous and passionate and intense love?
It is our Father’s
deep desire that in Christ the life of heaven would live in us. O the treasures
that are ours in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:2 – 3).
May I gently
ask, have you fully accepted the cleansing of your sins in Jesus Christ?
Is the heavenly life of Jesus Christ now living within you? Please ponder
Romans 5:1 – 11 and 1 John 1:1 – 2:2. Where are you in these passages?
Never ever forget
the intense love that God has for you in and through Jesus Christ.
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