The Everliving Intercessor

Next Part The Everliving Intercessor 2

"Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)

We have reason to bless God for the Epistle to the Hebrews, for it so unfolds the Levitical dispensation, and casts such a divine light on all the types, figures, rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices of the Old Testament.

What is the main subject of the Epistle to the Hebrews? It is this: to set forth the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to show how much this High Priesthood excels in virtue and efficacy all those sacrifices of the Old Testament which were but figures of it. The Lord Jesus Christ, then, being the High Priest of His people, we may divide His priestly office into two distinct periods; one period comprehends all that Jesus Christ once did on earth, and the other period comprehends all that Jesus Christ now does in heaven.

There were two things chiefly that the high priest had to do under the Old Testament dispensation; one was to offer sacrifices, the other to make intercession for the people. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great High Priest after the order of Melchisedek, performed on earth the first part of the priest's office, being both the Sacrificer and the Victim. And now, being ascended, He performs the second part, in making intercession for the people of God, and presenting before the Most High His blood and righteousness in behalf of His people. It is this second part of His priestly office that the text chiefly speaks of: "Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them."

In looking at these words I shall endeavor to consider them under three distinct heads–
First, the people described in the text– Those who come unto God by Jesus Christ.
Secondly, how He is able to save these to the uttermost.
Lastly, the reason why He is able to save them to the uttermost, because "he ever lives to make intercession for them."

I. The characters of the people of God are described in the word of truth under various characters. It seems as if the Holy Spirit had taken His pen of inspiration, and traced out the characters of God's people, that they, by seeing and feeling in their own hearts a correspondence to the characters described in the word of truth, might have sweet encouragement to believe that indeed they are the people of the living God. For instance, sometimes they are described as hungering and thirsting after righteousness; sometimes, as poor and needy; sometimes, as groaning under a body of sin and death; sometimes, as the flock of slaughter; sometimes as wandering through a waste, howling wilderness; and sometimes as afflicted, tried, and tempted.

When the people of God, then, feel in their own consciences that they have those marks that the Holy Spirit has described, and when the blessed Spirit is pleased to seal this persuasion upon their hearts, it raises them up to a living hope that they are God's people, because they have such marks, and are such characters as the word of inspiration has traced out.

In the text we have a description of the people of God in whose hearts the Spirit of God has begun, and is carrying on a gracious work. They are described as coming unto God by Jesus Christ: "Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him." This is their character; this is the description that the Holy Spirit has given them – that they come unto God by Jesus Christ."

Now, if you have never come to God by Jesus Christ, you have no manifested saving interest in the text; but if God the Spirit has quickened your soul into spiritual life, if He has begun, and is carrying on a work of grace in your conscience, depend upon it, you will find your character here traced out.

What is man by nature? The Holy Spirit has given this description of him: that he is "dead in trespasses and sins;" that he is "alienated from the life of God by the ignorance that is in him, because of the blindness of his heart;" (Eph. 4:18) that he is "an enemy to God by wicked works," that he is utterly unable to bring his soul near to God, and to do anything acceptable in His sight. Now, if this be the case, that man is dead in trespasses and sins, far from God by wicked works, alienated from the life of God by the ignorance that is in him because of the blindness of his heart, if the carnal mind is nothing but implacable enmity to God and godliness, how can he come near to God? He may come in a 'form' or in the mere exercise of his natural faculties – but a holy and just God cannot accept such a coming as this.

True worshipers come in spirit, as Jesus declared to the woman of Samaria. "The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth." And all worship, except spiritual worship, and all coming, except spiritual coming, is only a stench in God's nostrils.

Here, then, is one that is as unable to come to God by living faith as Lazarus was to come forth from the tomb, until the voice of the Savior spoke with power, "Lazarus, come forth." (John 11:43) But no sooner does the blessed Spirit speak to the conscience, no sooner does His sovereign voice reach the soul, than there is a doing spiritually what Lazarus did naturally--a coming forth. No sooner did the voice of the Lord, that is full of Majesty, that breaks the cedars, and makes the hinds to calve--no sooner did this Almighty voice break into the ears of Lazarus, than he came forth. And no sooner does the Lord begin to speak to the soul by the blessed Spirit, than the soul comes; it is moved, it rises out of the grave of death, and comes unto God. So that every soul whom God has quickened to fear His great name, has a manifested saving interest in this text--in that he comes unto God.

Here, then, we see a grand distinction, a distinction ever to be made, between those natural convictions of sin that a man may have in the flesh, and those spiritual convictions that are produced by a work of grace on the heart.

What is the effect and tendency of natural convictions? it is to drive the soul from God. Was it not so with Cain? What was his language? "My punishment is greater than I can bear;" (Gen. 4:13) and "he went out from the presence of the Lord." What was the effect of natural conviction in the bosom of Adam, our first parent? He hid himself among the trees of the garden. And what do we read is the feeling of the carnal mind? "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of your ways." A man may have deep convictions of sin by the workings of natural conscience; but they will only drive him from God. But when the blessed Spirit, by opening up God's law in the conscience, convinces a vessel of mercy, there is at the same time put into his soul by the same Spirit that crying, that groaning, that begging, that entreating, in a word, that "coming," whereby he answers the description in the text, that he "comes unto God."

The same apostle tells us (Heb. 11:6) what is necessary in a sinner that comes to God. Does he not say, "that without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him?" Faith then is needful; so that he that comes spiritually and acceptably to God comes in faith. This is it which brings a sinner near unto God. The blessed Spirit raises up the 'grace of faith', whereby he apprehends the character, and feels the power of God; whereby he bows down before the Majesty on high; whereby God's presence is solemnly realized, that he sees into the secret recesses of his bosom, and knows all the thoughts of his heart as they lie "naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

He comes also in the cries, and sighs, and groans of his soul. We may have prayed much before the Lord was pleased to quicken our souls. We may have said many prayers; we may have used long prayers, prayed in the morning, prayed at noon, and prayed at night; and yet not a single breath of true prayer was there in our hearts until God was pleased to quicken our souls into life. But I believe from experience, that one of the first marks of divine life is for God to raise up a spirit of supplication enabling us to breathe out our soul before God. It was so with me, and it is so with every quickened soul. "Behold, he prays," was said of Paul when first arrested by the hand of God.

He comes, then, to God in prayer, in sighs, in breathings, in longings, and pantings; and yet all the time there is a heavy burden of guilt upon his conscience. Sin often lies with a heavy weight upon his soul; the sins of his past life awfully rise up to his view; the corruptions of his nature are laid open; and yet, though he feels he deserves a thousand hells, and were God to banish him from His presence he could not but say, that in hell he should justify Him for all: yet there are those cries that he cannot stop if he would. He does not pray because it is his duty to pray, neither does he pray because six o'clock is come, or because nine o'clock is come, but he prays because he must. He groans, and cries, and sighs because he cannot help it. It is like water that must have a vent. It is like a stream that must gush forth; and therefore he prays because he cannot help but pray.

He comes with breathings toward God that He would show mercy upon him; that He would manifest Himself unto him; that He would pardon his sins, break in upon his soul, make Jesus known, reveal love and blood in his heart, and sprinkle his conscience with the blood of sprinkling; for you perceive the text says they "come to God by Jesus Christ."

Now, after the soul has thus been well plagued, well exercised, and well stripped, brought down, and its mouth put in the dust, there is a discovery made to it of the way of salvation through a crucified Immanuel. There is a discovery to the heart by faith, through the teachings and applyings of God the Spirit, of the glory of Christ's Person, of the fullness of Christ's righteousness, and Jesus is revealed as set forth in the Scriptures. And when the blessed Spirit takes of these things of Christ and unfolds them to the soul, and gives it a glimpse of what Jesus is to the poor and needy, at the same time and in the same way He imparts living faith toward the blessed Redeemer; and thus He enables him "to come to God by Jesus Christ."

He sees now there is a Mediator; he now knows that blood has been shed, that a propitiation has been made, that everlasting righteousness has been wrought out and brought in, and that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And, when the blessed Spirit is pleased to reveal these things with power in his soul, and to give blessed faith whereby they are laid hold upon in the conscience, then is there a coming to God by Jesus Christ, and a beseeching Him to apply the blood of atonement to his guilty conscience, and to reveal His dying love to the soul.

It may be asked, what is it that makes him come? Why, is it not a sense of felt need? It is guilt that makes him long for pardon. It is condemnation that makes him long for justification. It is helplessness that makes him long for help, it is blindness that makes him long for light. It is ignorance that makes him long for the teaching of the blessed Spirit. It is worthlessness that makes him long for Jesus' righteousness as a justifying robe to cover his nakedness, in which to appear before the throne of the Most High.

Necessity, felt necessity, lies at the root of coming unto God. If we have no needs, we can do very well without Jesus Christ. But, if we are full of needs, if we are poor, and needy, sinful, filthy, and guilty, helpless, hopeless, and undone, and then see by the eye of faith what a rich provision there is in the gospel; that "there is forgiveness with God that he may be feared" – when these things are experienced in the soul, then they draw forth feelings that are better known than described.

These, then, are the people who Jesus Christ saves--who "come unto God by him." All others think they can save themselves. But, if I can work out my own righteousness, I do not need Christ. If I can please God with my own performances, I need none of Immanuel's. If I can purge myself from my sins, I do not need the blood of Jesus. If I can please God with my own works, I do not want to be accepted in the Beloved. But on the other hand, if I feel full of guilt and shame, and have not a rag to cover myself with, but a life stained with sin, and my nature horrible in the sight of a holy God; if, then, I see by faith the blood and righteousness of the Son of God, His tender mercy, and the super-aboundings of His grace over all the aboundings of my sin--this draws me to His feet.

When He says "Look unto me, for I am God, and there is no other," and a sense of my needs and His fullness; my guilt and shame, and His righteousness – when these two things meet together in a sinner's heart, then only do we come as God would have us to come, in faith and feeling, in poverty and emptiness, in beggary and bankruptcy; and then only is our soul ever filled out of His fullness who fills all in all. "He opens His hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing."

There is no other coming but this; all other coming may be moving our body, but there is no moving of our soul. It may be a moving of our lips, but not of our heart. It is "the bodily exercise which profits little," not that spiritual exercise which is "profitable unto godliness."

Next Part The Everliving Intercessor 2

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