I wish I could keep this post short, so people would read it. But I can't digest the revelation of the Son of Man as our Melchizedek into a "meme". After all, Jesus Christ is the "hermeneutic" of God's Word. The Father has spoken to us by His Son. (Hebrews 1:2) In John 5:39, Jesus upbraided the Pharisee's for searching the scriptures, seeking eternal life in them, but His ultimate criticism was (the scriptures, the OT in their case) "are they which speak of Me." The Father's voice was in the Law & prophets & all of Israel's history, for that matter, (John 5:37), but they did not believe so they ended up selling pigeons & doves in the temple, kind of like today! So please stay with me as I seek, with my feeble mind & inadequate heart, to shed a tiny triple A (battery) bit of light on our Glorious Melchizedek!
The matter of Eternal Life is at the core of all of Scripture, and it's Hope isn't found in some celebration of the ecclesiastical full moon, but in the Truth of our Melchizedek! That Truth should turn the Hope of Eternal Life into and everyday celebration! But I digress.
This Revelation of our Melchizedek is the manifestation of the means of our union & communion, our oneness with the Father & His Son, that relationship John so repetitively speaks of in our Jesus' Priestly prayer in John 17. But as with most everything in Scripture, we must start with the Father's Will & Purpose declared in Ephesians 1. "Oh, not again!" I hear those groans. But Ephesians 1 is the nourishing "breast milk" from the Father that most spiritual infants of today have not had. Therefore Hebrews 5:5-12 must be written over much of contemporary Christendom. "Dull of hearing", needing milk, not having ears to hear! Everything in our existence as mere creatures grows out of the Father's Will & Purpose & we walk around blindly, bouncing off historical walls & futile plans until we come to be governed by that Truth. It isn't one of "the ten basic steps to christian maturity", it is the foundation of Divine Truth and the preservative from the quicksand of the humanistic, "it's all about me" christianity that passes as "gospel" today. Sorry, enough of my sarcasm.
Ephesians 1 makes it plain that the Father's Will & Purpose resides in His "gathering together in One all things IN CHRIST, ....IN HIM." The text proceeds to reveal that the Father's Eternal Living Will & Testament is Signed & Sealed in the hearts of those that believe His Word by His Holy Spirit of Promise.(Vs 13-14) What follows is the first of Paul's glorious prayers for his hearers (and us!). He asks "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory would give unto you the Spirit of wisdom & revelation in THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM , the eyes of your understanding being enlightened", (Think 1 John 5:20-21) the they may know three things: #1 the hope of the Father's Calling, #2 what are the riches of the Glory of HIS INHERITANCE in the saints (the rabbit trail that started this whole pursuit), and #3 "the exceeding greatness of His Power toward us-ward who believe, according to His Might Power, which He wrought IN CHRIST, when HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, AND SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND IN HEAVENLY PLACES." In that Resurrection, Paul says He was "declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead". (Romans 1:4 That is the "Power of the Gospel" of which Paul is speaking in 1:16.)
Enter Psalm 110:4 "The Lord hath sworn(made an oath, a God Oath), and will not repent (never change His Mind or change the duration of the Oath), Thou are a Priest FOR EVER AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK."
Hebrews 7:14-19 "For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood, and it is yet more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there ARISES (Holy Spirit's "play on words". All literal translations have "arises". Our High Priest is the one that ARISES!!!) another priest Who has come, not according to a fleshly commandment (as the Levitical priests), BUT ACCORDING TO !!!!!!!!!THE POWER OF AND ENDLESS LIFE!!!!!!!! For He (the Father) testifies, 'You are a Priest FOREVER according to the order of Melchizedek.' for on the one hand, there is the annulling of the former commandment (OT worship system) because of it's weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, THERE IS THE BRINGING IN A BETTER HOPE, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THROUGH WHICH WE DRAW NEAR TO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This Glorious Priesthood is the Personal outworking of God's Power, Eternal Life, toward us who believe. This is the One Who came in our flesh, offered Himself (a priestly activity) for the penalty required for our sins! This is the One, through His Priestly Offering in our human flesh (with not even the scent of our sin), through His death, destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime (that word speaks of "term limits") subject to bondage." And how? By the Power of His Resurrection! Our blessed hope is only found in the Eternal Ministry of our High Priest Who is saving us to the uttermost, (in the face of covid-19, lupus, fibromyalgia, Minears, high blood pressure, heart surgery, car wrecks, children who do not follow God, hearing loss, bad eyesight. Did I miss anything? Of course I did. We are plagued by "fear chains" in this animated death that we call life. But we face all of that with the assurance that "for all who come to God through Him, He ever lives to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25)
That, beloved, is our everyday Easter hope!
We will look more at the practical outworking of that "Power toward us" next time.
The matter of Eternal Life is at the core of all of Scripture, and it's Hope isn't found in some celebration of the ecclesiastical full moon, but in the Truth of our Melchizedek! That Truth should turn the Hope of Eternal Life into and everyday celebration! But I digress.
This Revelation of our Melchizedek is the manifestation of the means of our union & communion, our oneness with the Father & His Son, that relationship John so repetitively speaks of in our Jesus' Priestly prayer in John 17. But as with most everything in Scripture, we must start with the Father's Will & Purpose declared in Ephesians 1. "Oh, not again!" I hear those groans. But Ephesians 1 is the nourishing "breast milk" from the Father that most spiritual infants of today have not had. Therefore Hebrews 5:5-12 must be written over much of contemporary Christendom. "Dull of hearing", needing milk, not having ears to hear! Everything in our existence as mere creatures grows out of the Father's Will & Purpose & we walk around blindly, bouncing off historical walls & futile plans until we come to be governed by that Truth. It isn't one of "the ten basic steps to christian maturity", it is the foundation of Divine Truth and the preservative from the quicksand of the humanistic, "it's all about me" christianity that passes as "gospel" today. Sorry, enough of my sarcasm.
Ephesians 1 makes it plain that the Father's Will & Purpose resides in His "gathering together in One all things IN CHRIST, ....IN HIM." The text proceeds to reveal that the Father's Eternal Living Will & Testament is Signed & Sealed in the hearts of those that believe His Word by His Holy Spirit of Promise.(Vs 13-14) What follows is the first of Paul's glorious prayers for his hearers (and us!). He asks "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory would give unto you the Spirit of wisdom & revelation in THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM , the eyes of your understanding being enlightened", (Think 1 John 5:20-21) the they may know three things: #1 the hope of the Father's Calling, #2 what are the riches of the Glory of HIS INHERITANCE in the saints (the rabbit trail that started this whole pursuit), and #3 "the exceeding greatness of His Power toward us-ward who believe, according to His Might Power, which He wrought IN CHRIST, when HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, AND SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND IN HEAVENLY PLACES." In that Resurrection, Paul says He was "declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead". (Romans 1:4 That is the "Power of the Gospel" of which Paul is speaking in 1:16.)
Enter Psalm 110:4 "The Lord hath sworn(made an oath, a God Oath), and will not repent (never change His Mind or change the duration of the Oath), Thou are a Priest FOR EVER AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK."
Hebrews 7:14-19 "For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood, and it is yet more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there ARISES (Holy Spirit's "play on words". All literal translations have "arises". Our High Priest is the one that ARISES!!!) another priest Who has come, not according to a fleshly commandment (as the Levitical priests), BUT ACCORDING TO !!!!!!!!!THE POWER OF AND ENDLESS LIFE!!!!!!!! For He (the Father) testifies, 'You are a Priest FOREVER according to the order of Melchizedek.' for on the one hand, there is the annulling of the former commandment (OT worship system) because of it's weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, THERE IS THE BRINGING IN A BETTER HOPE, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THROUGH WHICH WE DRAW NEAR TO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This Glorious Priesthood is the Personal outworking of God's Power, Eternal Life, toward us who believe. This is the One Who came in our flesh, offered Himself (a priestly activity) for the penalty required for our sins! This is the One, through His Priestly Offering in our human flesh (with not even the scent of our sin), through His death, destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime (that word speaks of "term limits") subject to bondage." And how? By the Power of His Resurrection! Our blessed hope is only found in the Eternal Ministry of our High Priest Who is saving us to the uttermost, (in the face of covid-19, lupus, fibromyalgia, Minears, high blood pressure, heart surgery, car wrecks, children who do not follow God, hearing loss, bad eyesight. Did I miss anything? Of course I did. We are plagued by "fear chains" in this animated death that we call life. But we face all of that with the assurance that "for all who come to God through Him, He ever lives to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25)
That, beloved, is our everyday Easter hope!
We will look more at the practical outworking of that "Power toward us" next time.
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