Hebrews 9:13-14 - The Trinity and Atonement

Hebrews 9:13-14
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Message: The Trinity and Atonement

Time: Hebrews was written to a group of Christians who had suffered in the past and were now threatened with even more suffering. They'd done well years ago, but the author of Hebrews feared that they might now turn away from Christ to avoid further persecution.The opinions on the author of Hebrews has varied.

What the Lord is Saying:

As I have been learning, the co-working of the three persons of the Godhead (Father, Son, and Spirit) is known as the doctrine of inseparable operations. All are identical in their attributes, yet each has distinguishable manifestations. As we study scripture, we must agree it is all God-breathed so it reveals to us things of God.

Romans 8:32 - He (God) who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Hebrews 9:14 - the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God

Both of these texts share parallel ideas. God and God the Son offer up the Son for redemption and they do so in the Spirit (Acts 10:38 - Jesus of Nazareth, God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit). Atonement is from the Father through the Son offering in the Spirit for our salvation. But, only the Son suffered. The Father and the Spirit did not suffer on the cross. Christ suffered as a man but not according to His deity. Christ was able to offer himself because of the spirit in Him while the animals did it according to flesh. The Spirit here is not conclusively the Holy Spirit but could also mention a divine presence as some manuscripts translate this as eternal spirit.

Hebrews 9 is about the regulations imposed by the tabernacle. 9:7 says - the high priest once a year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The writer talks about this practice but then offers that Christ appeared as a high priest...through the greater and more perfect tabernacle... through His own blood...once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. If the act of the animals was great, how much greater is this act of Jesus (v. 13-14). Jesus obtained for us eternal redemption.

It is not simply that this act by Jesus has a longer reaching permanency, but the sins offered include the conscience as verse 14 says - you conscience cleansed from dead works. The blood of Christ purifies not only outwardly, but inwardly. His sacrifice was without blemish to God. There was no spot or blemish, but it was a perfect offering.

We can only truly serve the Lord if all of our dead works have been paid for by the blood of Christ. Under the law there was no service possible until cleansing was performed, but in Christ the cleansing is eternal and complete.

Promise: Christ suffered as man, but because of the work of the Spirit, cleansed us perfectly and completely from all of our past, present, and future sins. He completely satisfied the wrath of God.

Prayer: Thank you for dying for me Jesus and providing the way for me to have eternal union with God. My eternal home is now secure for all time. I thank you God for your great love for me in delivering Jesus up for me. Thank  you for the work of your spirit in raising Jesus from the dead. Help me to pass this onto others in my life and not be silent.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.