The Mediator – Hebrews 8:6 –

The Mediator

Hebrews 8:6

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. (Hebrews 8:6)

For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)

   The earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ covered a broad spectrum of prophecy, and by completing these prophecies He not only proved His Messiahship, but proved the validity of the Word of God and His sovereignty over His own Word. For in the foreknowledge of God the fullness of time was known before the foundation of the world. In fulfilling His first advent He began the path to His second coming or second advent. From the very words ‘it is finished’ the timetable of God’s determinate counsels began towards His second advent. With the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus complete, He is now the Mediator of a better covenant, or testament. His death and His resurrection sealed sin and death in the tomb where it belonged; thus, the living Savior came forth in the proof of the power of His endless life. He came forth and received of the Father ALL power in heaven and earth. With this sovereign power He is calling out a people for Himself, thus, making up the invisible house of God and the body of Christ. We, as Christians, are part of the invisible, and we belong to heaven and not to the earth.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)

   This is the heavenly covenant sealed with the blood of Christ. All covenants from the Abrahamic covenant have been sealed with blood. The difference is that now we have a heavenly covenant and not an earthly covenant. As we are part of His body, Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and we, although on the earth, have already been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son: . (Colossians 1:13) In the heavenly testament, we are part of the heavenly realm in which our Mediator mediates between God the Father and us. God has always been a mediator to mankind; however, Christ is now the Mediator of the heavenly calling. The apostle Paul declared in Galatians 3:26 that ye are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26) The apostle also gives us light in that the Lord Jesus Christ has broken all national ties to the earth: we are neither Jew nor Greek, we are neither bond nor free, neither male nor female, for ye are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus. We are Abraham’s seed through the true seed who is Jesus Christ.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

   We are brought into the promises of Abraham as heirs of that promise. The Abrahamic covenant contained two promises; one to the earthly descendants (which would become Israel), and the second part of the promise would be a heavenly people (as the stars of the sky) as confirmed by Colossians Chapter 3, verses 1-3.

Passed Away

   The earthly descendants of Abraham became Israel through Isaac and Jacob. As a nation they were given a blood-sealed covenant after they were brought out of Egypt. This is the covenant that has passed away. It was dependent on the obedience of man, and mankind failed at every level of the covenant because the covenant did not rid mankind of his ancestor Adam. However, in the covenant to the nation of Israel we see the longsuffering of God.

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: (Romans 9:22)

And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, (Romans 9:23)

Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:24)

As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. (Romans 9:25)

And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. (Romans 9:26)

   Therefore, the covenant of Mt. Sinai has passed. The priesthood has passed. The Levitical order has passed. The repetition of sacrifices has passed. For in one Body, our Mediator (Jesus Christ) has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He is now the Mediator of a New Testament that CANNOT be broken by mankind. Adam has been removed from its condition, for all the conditions of the New Testament were met in Christ Jesus when He gave Himself on Calvary’s cross creating a New Testament for both Jew and Gentile, thus, creating a heavenly people for the heavenly city the new Jerusalem. The future glory of Israel, His earthly people, will take place in His second advent which in itself is complete in the Lord Jesus, the promised Seed in the fullness of time. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

   From the Lord’s position in glory, He is the Mediator of a better covenant or testament for He sealed this covenant with His death, and His shed blood.

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)

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: (Hebrews 9:13)

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 9:14)

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. (Hebrews 9:15)

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. (Hebrews 9:16)

Three Covenants

   In the book of Hebrews Chapter 8, we have three covenants: one, the covenant of Sinai that has passed away; two, the covenant of the New Testament which is now enforced by the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary; and then thirdly, we see a future covenant that He will make with the house of Israel. He will gather them in from every wind and nation; this will make up His millennial Kingdom and will be completely established under the reign of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and thus, this last covenant with the house of Israel will also be established. They will be brought to the realization that Jesus Christ is the One who they put to death on the cross of Calvary. And they will mourn because of their transgression against God.

The Future Jewish State

   There will be a spirit of repentance upon the whole nation of Israel, and Christ (who is their Messiah) will embrace them with the same supernatural work that He accomplished on the cross of Calvary. He will be the divine sacrifice of their new covenant which He fulfilled in the fullness of time. The Jewish state will be transformed into a Kingdom and the sovereign power over this Kingdom and over the world will be the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish tears that have been shed over the past two thousand years will be turned to joy in the Lord, and they will partake of His glorious salvation and worship Him as God Almighty.

   It will be difficult (after all the traditions of men, and after all the deceptive teaching and influence from Jewish leadership) for the Jewish mind to accept that they crucified their Messiah, that they put to death the Prince of Life; however, the second advent of the Lord Jesus will be a supernatural advent to fulfill the promises made to Abraham by Jehovah. The sovereign of the universe will not let mankind deter His purpose and plan in His determinate counsels. This is why He will establish His Kingdom under the sovereignty of both Lordship and Kingship. He will bring to the earth the righteousness of God as the Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. He will be the Mediator between God and the nation of Israel. He will make supplication for them, and He will embrace all that He gathers unto Himself and establish a new covenant with the house of Israel.

   The glory of this is that the body of Christ (the Church) His bride will come with Him, all the years of their faith will be magnified in their hearts when they see their sovereign take His position as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. There will not be one person of the Jewish race left out of this divine covenant — for all Israel will behold Him as their King. In His mediation Christ will make intercession for the nation of Israel exactly as He makes intercession for us in this present age.

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

Mediator – King of Heaven

   Our Mediator in heaven is the royal Mediator for one of His titles is King of heaven. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works [are] truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (Daniel 4:37) What greater intercessor could we have who humbled Himself (although being a King) and came to earth and took upon Him the form of a man, and then in divine splendor humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death even the cruel and dastardly death of the cross. This regal King came into the vineyard that was His and laid down His life for the souls of mankind. He established the new covenant or testament IN His death and sealed it with His blood. This REGAL intercessor, this divine Mediator, knows the trial of our faith.

The Trial of Faith — The Target

We read in the book of Job (in Chapter 23) that Job cried out (from the annals of history in the divine Word of God) that his trial would bring him forth as gold.

Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!(Job 23:3)

I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. (Job 23:4)

I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. (Job 23:5)

Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. (Job 23:6)

There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. (Job 23:7)

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: (Job 23:8)

On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: (Job 23:9)

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. (Job 23:11)

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12)

But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. (Job 23:13)

For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. (Job 23:14)

   Job was a servant of God. Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? It was God who deliberately drew Satan’s attention to His servant Job. There are a lot of men who have claimed servitude to God, but it is only God who can call and name His servant. Job was a man of great moral character; he is the only man in all of scripture that has this testimony. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8) In this portion of Scripture (which is the unbending, unbroken, pure voice and Word of God) God proclaimed first that Job was His servant, he was in servitude to the divine realm and to divine sovereignty. God Himself stated that there is none like him in the earth. Of all the descendants of the children of Adam, Job was favored of God that Job was perfect and an upright in his faith of the Almighty God. We know from Job’s testimony that the Almighty was his Savior, for Job cried out, For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth: I know my Redeemer liveth. (Job 19:25) Redemption had taken hold of the heart, soul and spirit of Job as he walked through this world by faith in the Almighty. What is obviously lacking today in this world of evil is the fear of God. This was also a part of the faith of Job, one that feareth God. Mankind (through his unbelief) has numbed his heart, soul, and spirit by his determinate sin against the Almighty and his hatred for the righteousness of God. Job embraced God’s righteousness through his Redeemer, through His Daysman (which was, and is, and forever will be) the Lord Jesus Christ. God allowed the trial(s) of Job, but God did not forsake Job. In all of Job’s troubles his eyes were never lowered from the majesty of God, and the omnipotence of God’s power over all mankind.

Note of Interest: In the book of Job you will not see certain words such as ‘love’, ‘grace’, or ‘faith’; however, you will find the principles of resurrection, eternal life, redemption, a Redeemer, a Daysman, justification, mercy, salvation, and the Spirit of God. The foundation that these principles are built upon is the love of God, and His grace and mercy toward all, and the faith factor in that Job believed God. Behold now, I have ordered [my] cause; I know that I shall be justified. (Job 13:18)

For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth: (Job 19:25)

I know that thou canst do every [thing], and [that] no thought can be withholden from thee. (Job 42:2)

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (Job 19:26) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:27) ♦ End of Side Note. 

   In the New Testament the Spirit of God lifts the children of God who are going through trials, those going through tribulation, and those who have been forsaken of men have the same comfort of their faith as Job. For the Spirit of God instructs us through Peter that the trial of our faith is much more precious than gold that perishes.

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (1 Peter 1:6)

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:8)

Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:9)

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: (1 Peter 1:10)

   In both cases (with Job and with the suffering saints today) it is not Satan who is the refiner, the Refiner is God Himself purging those things that detract from His glory. He is fitting us for His heavenly sphere, and His image. Peter (through the divine Spirit) takes us back to Job and links us in this present day to both the faith and sufferings of Job. Could this be why the Holy Spirit of God does not confirm a date for the book of Job? Could it be that from Abel to the present age and onward to the millennial kingdom that the true servants of God, the true people of God, will be refined by the refining fire that we (the redeemed) will see Him face to face and be like Him. Even Job declared of His Redeemer that he would see Him face to face. Our Redeemer and Job’s Redeemer was the champion, the victor over death, and hell in the fullness of time — the Man Christ Jesus.

Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! (Job 19:23)

That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! (Job 19:24)

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (Job 19:25)

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (Job 19:26)

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:27)

The Trial of Faith — Preparation for The Eternal State

   In our contemporary world with corrupt religious systems of man, we have faith without suffering, we have a Savior without sovereignty, we have His Word without integrity, and we have His sacrifice and His blood trampled underfoot. This is not the Christianity or the faith of the Bible. From Abel to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel, all the way through the Old Testament and into the New Testament finishing with the apostle John in prison on the isle of Patmos, this was the trial of their faith, not riches, not buildings, not religious empires, but the suffering servants that God could say, Hast thou considered my servant? The trial of faith comes to every true child of God. For the Lord Jesus is preparing us for a place wherein righteousness will dwell. It will be the new heaven, and the new earth, all that is under the curse or has been tainted by sin in anyway will be dissolved, and He will make anew — a new heavens and a new earth.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (Isaiah 65:17)

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. (Isaiah 66:22)

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)

   This will take place when He is done with the nations of the world, when they reject the final call of God’s grace. He will destroy all that Adam is, all that Adam has, and all that the world wants to possess, and they that dwell therein. A world will then be created that is engulfed with the righteousness of God. There will be no arguments of the sovereignty of God. There will be no arguments over creation. There will be no arguments over the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The new heaven and the new earth will be untarnished vessels, and it will be the house of God and His redeemed throughout eternity. This wonderful place is known as the eternal state. God will dwell among the redeemed forever.

    As we are brought into the family of God by the divine calling of Jesus Christ through the Spirit of God, we stand as new creations, new creatures as newborn babes in Jesus Christ. Our faith will be matched to our trials, and we will show our love for our Redeemer as we respond to being purified for our eternal home. This is why we have a divine Mediator who has been tempted in all parts like we are, yet, apart from sin. This is why He suffered for us that He might deliver us from the eternal sufferings of hell. The great Intercessor embraces us as children. As He said to His disciples, You are no longer servants, but friends. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15) Abraham was called a friend of God. What a position that God has given us in our being that we are children that we are sons that we are brethren, and that we are friends of God. What glory fills the heart when one sees beyond the dimness of Adam’s posterity into the light from above in Jesus Christ. He is our great Intercessor as our great Mediator.

The Mediator — The Intercessor

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

   Romans Chapter 8 gives us the mind of the Spirit. It quickens us to know that there is a spiritual realm that belongs to God. And those who are in this realm are His new creation. He has taken the position as the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to be our Intercessor. He is the Mediator between God and man, and in His work as the Mediator He makes intercession for us in His royal divine priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. In Hebrews Chapter 4, verses 15 and 16, we have our Intercessor sitting upon the throne of intercession which is the throne of grace. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) He is there to listen to our whimpers, to hear our cries, and to be our great Intercessor as He ministers grace upon grace unto us.

Many Crowns – Many Thrones – Yet One

   In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ the Lord Jesus is pictured as having many crowns; however, throughout the Bible the same Creator, the same Savior sits upon many thrones. Although they are collective, they all speak of the one throne of His righteousness and His sovereignty over all things. The description of His glorious throne is found in Revelation Chapter 4 verses 2 – 5.

And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. (Revelation 4:2)

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (Revelation 4:3)

And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. (Revelation 4:4)

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)

   The glory of the throne sitter in the purity of the jasper stone is hailed by all of heaven’s creatures, and it is to Him that all glory belongs. We listen with the ear of the spirit as heaven resounds to the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior upon His throne. These are some of the aspects of the creation that show forth His glory. The most precious stone of the earth and out of those collective stones, the purist of them all surrounded by the rainbow in its vast colors united in one halo of glory around His throne. The thunderings of heaven, and the lightning flashes all proclaim the wonder of this Creator who is the Creator of all things for without Him is not anything made that was made. He has the final say in His own determinate counsels. It is by His will that we live and breathe, and before His throne walk the seven Spirits of God which is the unity and the fullness of God’s Spirit. Stretched out (as far as the eye can see) is a sea of glass like unto crystal to show the calmness and the completeness of His tender love. There are no waves in this sea. There are no boisterous winds whipping this sea for the work of the cross has declared ‘Peace be still,’ and know that I am God. In this celestial setting in Revelation Chapter 4 the sounds of the redeemed of the earth are not only heard, but they resound with glory and praise. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11) His creatorial work is honored and praised for all power in heaven and earth has been delivered unto the Lord Jesus Christ who has the power of an endless life. If mankind will not declare His creatorial glory on earth then heaven surely will proclaim Him as Creator — for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. This scene in Revelation Chapter 4 is not Adam looking up, but this is the redeemed looking upon the creation of God — Jesus Christ. For it was Christ who whispered the first words of creation. He is the One (through the darkness) whose voice proclaimed in the mist of the darkness, Let there be light: and there was light.

   This throne sitter that is revealed in the book of Revelation is the same Jesus that suffered and died for us. This same Creator was rejected by His very own creation — Adam (man). This same creation mocked Him, spit upon Him, and then nailed Him to the cross. How foolish is the evil spirit of mankind? When eternity was offered to all of Adam’s race mankind killed the very vehicle of eternal life. Thanks be to God that our Savior has the power of an endless life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; (John 5:26) 

   The Son of God’s love, the divine Being that was manifested in the flesh bringing heaven’s glory to us, suffered on the cross to give us His endless life. God the Father has given Him full divine sway in all things for in this He manifested the perfect will of God in all things that He did without sin, and without any contamination of Adam’s race. All power — without restrictions — has been given to Him in heaven and in earth. When the greatest microscope in the world can reveal the smallest particle, it is only a testimony to the creatorial power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since He created the heavens and the earth out of like particles and created the creature man out of that same dust who are we to doubt the divine Being when He sends forth His witness in the heavens, in the creation, and in the Word of God.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (Hebrews 1:1)

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)

The Mediator — Redemption Power

   To whom does the power of redemption belong to? God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There is no one, no angel, no beast, no created being that matches the deity which is Jesus Christ. He is the first born from the dead. The reasoning in this is that He is the first fruits of resurrection. And through His resurrection He gives us eternal life. It is the proof of His divine power and majesty that not even death could hold Him for He had the power of life within Him, and He had the power to lay it down and to take it again.

   Redemption does not belong to us. Redemption belongs to Him. He has the power, authority, sway, command, and the will to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him. For He is the only way, He is the only life, and He is the only truth. He is the only life that can translate us into His Kingdom where we can sing with the host of heaven the acclamation, the praise, and the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The Righteous Mediator Touches God and Mankind

   This Mediator has ascended above the heavens. The highest Himself has risen to higher glories in His work of redemption for us. His love for us became a rainbow of glory that He will share with all His redeemed. The highest Himself has ascended higher as our Mediator. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26) A true mediator (which we have in Jesus Christ) must have complete righteousness of all thought and action. He must have divine power to be a mediator between God and mankind. And because He has a divine priesthood (which declares His endless righteousness) He is able to mediate with a divine love for us. For He has been tempted in all parts like we are, yet, without sin.

The Mediator — The Daysman — The Kinsman Redeemer

    As Mediator He also takes the position of the Daysman and of the kinsman redeemer for He was fashioned in the likeness of man so that He might redeem man unto God. In this He became the Kinsman Redeemer (as Boaz in the book of Ruth). As our Kinsman Redeemer, He has made us joint heirs with Himself. And there is no way we can go to the depth of being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Our thought process (even with the Spirit of God within) is limited to what God has revealed to us in His marvelous Word. The closest that we can come would be the ascension of Paul and the vision of John on the isle of Patmos to know the vast inheritance that lays ahead for all of God’s redeemed. To know that my soul rests at the right hand of God is beyond understanding. To know that the Father has left the very prints of crucifixion in the hands of His dear Son as a witness of His love throughout all creation, and those same scars in His hands will be revealed to the whole world in His second advent for they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and will weep for their transgression. And [one] shall say unto him, What [are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends. (Zechariah 13:6)

   This wonderful Redeemer, this GodMan, the man Christ Jesus, is our only Mediator. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5) The glory of His divine mediatorship is united with both King and Priest of righteousness. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; . (Hebrews 7:2) The oath of divine priesthood was bestowed upon the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. (Psalm 110)

The First Act of Redemption — The First Priestly Act

   The first act of His divine priesthood on earth was the sacrifice of the two lambs in the garden for the transgressors — Adam and Eve. The sin that Adam brought into the world was laid upon the head of each lamb and God Himself took the life of His creatures.  God shed the blood of His own creation because of the sin of Adam. This was the first foreshadowing of His own death, and His own shed blood for the sin of the world. Adam and Eve were made to wear the skins of death upon them to remind them of the deepest transgression that had ever been committed because it was Adam who brought sin into the world, and death by sin. So therefore, death has passed upon all mankind for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Adam did not leave the garden joyfully. He was driven out by the hand of God because God could not look upon Adam and Eve (and all of humanity) except through the covering of the sacrifice that He had made. In order to protect the tree of life God placed at the entrance of the garden Cherubim and a flaming sword to bar ALL mankind from entering into the garden and partaking of the tree of life; for the tree of life would come forth (and be made available to humanity) in the fullness of time in God’s dear Son, the Creator of all things, the Lord Jesus Christ. The tree in the garden gave death, the tree at Calvary gave life eternal to those who believe on the Son of God. God is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL would come to repentance and to the knowledge and the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will give you two statements: God was in Christ reconciling the WHOLE world unto Himself; the Lamb of God came to take away the sin of the world. There is no limit to the atoning grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only the rejection of the Son of God and His work of redemption that condemns anyone.

The Mediator is Given to Mankind in God’s Love

    Christ is the center object of God’s love. He is the Author, and the Distributor of God’s love. In this we are speaking of a divine love, and in the position of Mediator He teaches us through love that He holds in His own bosom unparalleled righteousness and truth. He Himself, in His own ministry, explains the love of God in the simplest terms. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and that you should love your neighbor as yourself. This puts a huge difference between the love of man and the love of God. Cain cried out without remorse because he had no love for his own brother, Am I my brother’s keeper? In fact, the heart of enmity brought forth the death of Abel.

   In Christ it is the One who laid down His life for the sheep, and through His suffering He has quickened many in the love of God. He appeals to us to have the same love for our neighbors. Remember, you were dead in trespasses and sin, you were the unlovable, and Christ your Savior loved you unto death. If there is no love for God how can there be love for man? Every day we pass those with the greatest wealth that anyone could ever possess (because the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is the greatest wealth that anyone can possess or communicate to others). The Lord wants us to dwell among the worldlings; however, as He was separated from sinners, He in turn does not want us to embrace the sins of the world. Remember, He dwelt among Adam’s race in total regal righteousness. As His righteousness has been imputed unto us, so His undying love has been made part of His redeemed that they would be as Abraham: a witness to the world of a divine God. As Abraham pleaded for Sodom so too the redeemed should plead for the souls of mankind. As the divine Mediator He has given all His children the message of His divine calling: the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has brought us into His divine thoughts as mediators. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. This in turn makes every newborn child of God a mediator pleading with God over the souls of mankind.

   In all of Job’s sufferings he could never turn away from God. Although Job could not find comfort through his friends he could lean upon his Redeemer and know that God was his Sustainer. Although the word ‘love’ is not in the entire book of Job, we find that Job was bound in the grace of God. Job knew the divine Being, and he could cry out in suffering, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. (Job 13:15) These were not idle words because the adversary of the souls of men, the devil himself, was about to bring Job to the very precipice of death. However, this servant of God under tremendous loses and sufferings, and the pain of the flesh, and the loneliness of soul and spirit knew that he had a Daysman, and God would intercede for him. The Mediator, Christ Jesus, preserved His servant, Job. Even though Job asked the question of the Daysman, God in answer, became the Daysman for Job and for all of mankind on the cross of Calvary.

  Christ (while suspended on that tree) stood between God and mankind redeeming the world unto Himself; therefore, He is the Mediator of the New Testament. He is able to enforce His mediatorship because all that was demanded of God was fulfilled in Himself. All the penalties against mankind He took upon Himself. He took the flesh and put it out of the way, and erased Adam from the soul of every believer in Jesus Christ.

   Adam could not make a way to heaven. He couldn’t even remain in the garden. By being driven out he was completely cut off from God. That was not grace that he carried on his body in skins, but that was death. Adam is never mentioned (as Abraham was mentioned) as a recipient of divine grace. If he was, he had to walk by faith; yet it was Abel who is first presented to us in Hebrews Chapter 11. Abel was not only the first to walk by faith, but the first to suffer death because of his faith. The Holy Spirit leaves out things intentionally so that we might muse on the total history of mankind under sin. Beginning at Abel, the Spirit removes Adam from walking by faith. God had to divinely call Adam’s second son to walk with Him. Cain representing Adam became a murderer. The death that Adam brought into the world was manifested in his first son, Cain. For Cain slew Abel because Abel had partaken of the seed of righteousness in Jesus Christ our Lord. Adam, although the first created man, could not redeem himself. There is no record of Adam repenting, or attempting to walk by faith, or serving God. It was God (the offended party) who in the fullness of time would make reconciliation for the sin of the world. Through the sin and disobedience of Adam, God (the divine Creator) was the only One who could reconcile mankind and the world to Himself. Adam could not pay the debt for the debt was beyond all humanity. They, humanity as a whole, had become the accursed thing.

The Mediator and the Accursed Thing

   I ask you to consider the sin of Achan regarding the Babylonian garment, the silver and the gold. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. (Joshua 7:1) Read the following verses to verse 16.

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they [are] hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. (Joshua 7:21)

Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity. (Joshua 22:20)

   The Babylonian garment was a ceremonial garment of the priesthood of pagan idolatry. The wedge of gold and the silver was a symbol of the treasures of mankind, and how these treasures influence and then control the heart, the soul, and spirit.

The Mediator Available and Rejected

   We should also consider Luke Chapter 16; I have always taken this section as a real life and death story told by our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us the view of a man living in a glorious material realm that had blinded the man to the things of God. The rich man had many days of life with splendor; however, at the end of his life his soul was in the raging fires of hell. He is in torment of the greatest kind, and for the longest period reaching throughout all eternity, this same story continues every day. This world is the threshold of hell without Jesus Christ as souls passes from life to death with no return, and with no second chance for God’s glorious salvation in Jesus Christ. Many treat this chapter as merely a teachable parable because they do not want to face the reality of hell fire.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (Luke 16:19)

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, (Luke 16:20)

And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (Luke 16:21)

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (Luke 16:22)

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (Luke 16:24)

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. (Luke 16:25)

And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26)

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: (Luke 16:27)

For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:28)

Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (Luke 16:29)

And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (Luke 16:30)

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31)

   Beginning at verse 19 in Luke Chapter 16, we have the soul of a man concerned only about temporal life. He was consumed by everything that is earthly, and God is not in all his thoughts. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts. (Psalm 10:4) The reality of the fires of hell now awakened him to what he had lost: for he had lost his own soul.　Now this man had a Mediator, and yet, he would not come to God through the Mediator Jesus Christ. Lazarus was a sickly beggar of the poor of this world that even the dogs licked his sores. Upon his death he was gathered home not by one angel, but by a multitude of angels to show the proof of God’s love and care. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who are the heirs of salvation. (Hebrews 1:14) They carried Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom: another proof of the reconciling power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and another proof of the completion (past, present and future) of the promises that Jehovah made unto Abraham, for God is the God of the living, and not of the dead. Lazarus (although poor on earth) then became an heir of God, and an heir of the promised seed of Abraham. As Lazarus went forth into glory with the angels, he was received by the multitude of saints who had preceded him, thus, filling eternity with the stars of God, each and every soul which is bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Lazarus joined the celestial people in the bosom of God.

   In verse 23, the rich man lifted up his eyes. This was not the time to lift up the eyes. He should have gazed into the heavens in this physical life to see that his only hope comes from heaven, and from the divine Mediator: Jesus Christ. In the rich man we see the absolute helplessness of the human race in Adam. This whole sequence is not exaggerated by God. It was meant to sir the souls of mankind unto repentance and faith in Jesus Christ before it is too late.

One Mediator Supplied by God

   God knows the heart of all mankind. He knows that the heart is permeated with wickedness. This is confirmed in the Word of God by the prophet Jeremiah. The Spirit leads Jeremiah to exclaim the voice of the Lord when he stated that the heart is desperately wicked. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:10)

   As we examine the book of Jeremiah, we see many times that it is the voice of the Lord, and it is penned directly into the living Word of God so that we might see the reality of our own hearts. This is not opinion, but the absolute truth from the Word of God, and from the breath of God. This leaves all, all of Adam’s race, at enmity against God. Only one who has paid the price, the price of Adam’s sin, could declare the wickedness of the heart of mankind. All of Adam’s race qualifies and all possess an evil heart; however, God has supplied through His beloved Son, a Mediator between God and man: the Man Christ Jesus.

A Divine Mediator to Comfort

   Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4) In the twenty-third psalm we have the rod of God, and we have the staff of God. Even though the rod speaks of judgment, both the rod and the staff are there to comfort us because the judgment did not fall on us but fell instead on the Good Shepherd; yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)

   Our judgment fell on the Lord Jesus; this gives us a divine Mediator who is capable of justifying us before the Almighty God. He is also capable imputing to us His righteousness which puts us into a position without condemnation. We have been freed from Adam, sin, death, and hell. He bore our sorrows, He took away our transgressions, and He put an end to our sin. He, by fulfilling all righteousness, has redeemed us unto God by His blood. The rod is past, and the present is the staff to guide us through this life. He gives to His sheep the sound of His voice, for we know Him, and we hear Him. He leads us by the still waters for He has calmed all the tumult that was against us by saying. Peace be still.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:14)

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (John 10:16)

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. (John 10:26)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

   These words spoken by the Good Shepherd, and sovereign King are profound in John 10. For He was speaking while in the presence of His enemies: He was on Solomon’s porch in the temple and was exposing the thieves and the robbers. Because He exposed them (from that point forward) they counseled together to put Him to death. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and the rulers of the Jews knew that they had been exposed by divine truth. Yet, they conspired one with another to put the Prince of Life to death, and to remove the Shepherd from the sheep. While on Solomon’s porch He was well aware of His enemies for He knew the thoughts and intent of every heart present.

   What is so important in this section is to understand that the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ are all personally known by Him, and He knows each and every one by name. He is able to separate His sheep from the ungodly. He is able to lead them out of the captivity of religious organizations. He is able to give them green pastures in the very Word of God. He is able to witness to them by His voice and not another. For He is the one Mediator between God and mankind. He calls us from the vast fields of the world. He gathers us into His flock. He walks amongst us and teaches us according to His will. He is the Good Shepherd, and He knows His sheep from the book of Life. He calls their names and gives unto them eternal life.

The Mediator of the Church — The Mediator for Israel

   In Hebrews Chapter 8 the Mediator of the New Testament is between two covenants to Israel. This shows the presence of the Church as the body of Christ. The Old has passed away, and the New covenant with Israel in His second advent is yet to come.

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. (Hebrews 8:6)

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (Hebrews 8:7)

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (Hebrews 8:8)

   We have a list of three covenants: the old from Mt. Sinai established by blood, wherein Moses was the mediator to Israel. Then the future covenant with Israel in verse 8 that takes place in the Lord’s second advent is validated by the fullness of time and His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. It also has been established by His blood. Between both of these covenants (the Sinai covenant and the future covenant for Israel) the covenant of grace was established by His blood; it is by grace that He has called out a people for Himself. They are not an earthly people. They are a heavenly people. They have been changed by a divine birth. They have been born again by the Spirit of God from heaven to bear them to heaven. As a new creation in Jesus Christ, they have a spiritual life with God with only One Mediator, and this is Jesus Christ.

A Personal Mediator – The Good Shepherd — The Revealer

   The Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd has a personal relationship with each and every soul who He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light. No preacher, no writer, no expositor, no gifts to the Church can replace the personal affection, the personal dealings, and the personal intercession that Christ gives to each and every one of His children. There is no excuse not to listen to His voice through the Word of God. It is the Word of God and the Spirit of God that reveals the wonders and the revelation of Jesus Christ. No one on earth can be substituted for His divine presence in the life of a believer. Through the Lord Jesus (who has sent the Spirit of truth) no one needs to rely on any human for understanding of the Scriptures. We worship God in Spirit and in truth. To worship in Spirit and in truth are the two qualifying characteristics for a true worshiper of the Lord Jesus.

   He is the only Mediator, and He is also the Sustainer of the New Testament and covenants that He Himself made with God the Father. In the confines and extent of that divine covenant He is able to save to the uttermost for He has both Upheld and Satisfied the righteousness of God. He has sealed eternity with His own precious blood.

The Mediator Sealed All Covenants with His Own Blood — The Testator

   As Abraham set out the sacrifices in the Abrahamic covenant, which were sealed by the blood of those offerings, they were foreshadows of the fulfillment of that covenant in the fullness of time which has given us the New Testament. (Genesis 15:6-18)

   The New Testament is sealed with divine blood, the blood of God’s dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The word ‘testament’ not only is sealed by blood, but it brings in the death of the Testator giving the New Testament life from His resurrection, and from the power of His endless life as documented in Hebrews Chapter 7, verse 16. The death of bulls and goats could not give or provide mankind with an Intercessor of any kind, but this Man, the GodMan, after He had offered Himself ONCE has created a new people who have inherited eternal life from Him. And much more, for now He is the Mediator to the whole body of Christ, not only individually, but collectively. He is moving in this spiritual realm that is not made by hands.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (Hebrews 9:11)

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)

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 9:14)

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. (Hebrews 9:15)

   How we fail to grasp the totality of our position in Jesus Christ. All the inheritance that Christ has given to us has been denied by the religious world and mankind under the guise of Christianity. We need to look through the dark clouds of this world. We need to lay hold of the light which is above in our beloved Savior. He has delivered us to be a spiritual people. He has delivered us to be free of this body of death. He has delivered us to be saints IN light. He has delivered us to embrace and encompass His love for us. He has sealed both our salvation, and our inheritance in His own precious blood. He has given an everlasting covenant, and He is an everlasting Mediator, and in completing all — He sat down at the right hand of God.

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10:12)

This is the Man Christ Jesus.

Amen

Copyright 2019, Michael Haigh

Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the  King James Bible. (KJB)