The Sum of the Whole Matter
Hebrews Eight and Nine
The previous chapter established the objective: the New Covenant as the framework for a restored world under the Kingdom of God.
This chapter returns to Hebrews 8 and 9 to identify who will accomplish this objective and at what cost.
Hebrews now turns to the question: who will serve the living God to achieve this result?
This subject has been covered already in Chapters 3 through 5 under the language of “entering the rest” and “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.” However, we are reminded of the great cost involved in bringing this about.
In Chapter 6 we were told to recognize the real mission. We were to upgrade from basic Christian principles upward to understanding the function of the Melchizedek Order. Chapter 7 established the Melchizedek Order as a fact.
17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Heb 7:17
There is a “better hope” for all mankind: the New Covenant. The nations of Israel, as identified in Chapter 6, will be the first to experience the New Covenant. Their visible transformation under this covenant will demonstrate its reality to the rest of the world, inspiring all nations to follow. The New Covenant is, from the ground up, a complete reconstruction of human civilization.
22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Heb 7:22
The Sum of the Whole Matter
Hebrews Chapter 8 now brings its own summary: “this is the sum of the whole matter.” We now do have the new High Priest, seated next to the Father (meaning in conjunction with the Father), set over the true tabernacle, the consummate heavenly government now to rule over the earth. However, once again, it is reiterated what the objective is. A ministry, the Melchizedek Order, to mediate a New Covenant.
Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum:We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. Hebrews 8:1
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb 8:6
Next, it is pointed out that the former covenant made with their ancestors was irretrievably broken by the people. Again, the New Covenant, yet to be made “after those days,” is announced as still future.
It is surprising how completely this New Covenant has been overlooked or, more precisely, intentionally ignored, despite its emphasis. It is described as the overall sum of all the points discussed in the earlier chapters. Anything that appears to contradict established doctrines is ignored by mainstream Christianity. This has to be deliberate. Where do you find people writing about the Melchizedek Order? Where do you find serious engagement with the fact that the New Covenant is still future, not present?
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Heb 8:10
A Personal Chapter for a Specific Group
Hebrews Chapter 9 is a personal chapter explicitly directed to a specific group of people. Not to everyone who calls themselves Christian, but to those who actually do the will of the Father.
Christ made the distinction clear:
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
Those who merely claim to believe are not addressed in this chapter. Those who actually act on what they claim to believe, those who do the will of the Father, these are the ones being spoken to.
To these people, Christ lets it be known that the old tabernacle system could never produce what must come next. It would take a lot more than the sacrifice of goats and bulls with ceremonial ordinances to enter into the Holy Place.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:13-14
Here is the first mention in this chapter identifying to whom it is directed: those who serve the living God.
It was the personal and completely innocent blood of Christ that enables “those that serve the living God.” As established in previous chapters, serving the living God means preparing a people for the New Covenant. By now it should be more than clear that this is the focal point, the sum of everything. The verse makes the point that by comparison, all other works, as worthy as they may have been, are “dead” by comparison. That is, they will not lead to “life” and the future God has in mind. The blood of Christ sanctifies individuals to be suitable and able to work on behalf of God, as long as they are performing the will of the Father.
11 And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Rev 12:11
The Cost and the Calling
The New Covenant, for which Christ died, will be brought about by a specific group. This is reinforced in verse 15.
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Heb 9:15
“They which are called.” The second mention of who this refers to. Not everyone. Not all who claim belief. But those who are called, who respond to that calling, and who act on it.
A third identification appears in verse 24.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Heb 9:24
“For us.” Christ appears in the presence of God on behalf of a specific group. Those He is interceding for. Those who serve the living God.
And finally, verse 28 identifies them one more time.
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Heb 9:28
“Them that look for him.” Not those who casually hope. Not those who claim belief without action. But those who actively look for Him, who are watching, who are prepared, who are doing the work He commissioned them to do.
This chapter highlights four references to a specific group of people, indicating who this chapter pertains to and the cost of obtaining them. The blood of Christ was not a generic offering for abstract “humanity.” It was a specific sacrifice to sanctify a specific group to accomplish a specific mission: preparing a people for the New Covenant.
Subtly, Hebrews invites us into the “holiest of all” areas, contingent upon our service to the living God. The invitation is not automatic. It is not based on mere profession. It is based on whether we are actually doing the will of the Father.
The question is not “Do you believe?”
The question is “Are you serving the living God?”
If the answer is yes, then this chapter is addressed to you. If the answer is no, then no matter what you profess, you are not among those Christ is interceding for in the heavenly sanctuary.
This is the cost: Christ gave His blood.
This is the calling: to serve the living God by preparing a people for the New Covenant.
This is the result: entrance into the holiest of all, the Melchizedek Order, the better resurrection, the fulfillment of everything Hebrews has been building toward.
The sum of the whole matter is this: a High Priest mediating a better covenant, accomplished through those He has sanctified to serve, at a cost beyond measure.