Hebrews (Program #7) – Jesus as the Son of Man - as Man Superior to the Angels

There is a certain fascination with angels in this present age and the Bible certainly confirms that angels and the angelic realm exist. But the Bible also confirms that man occupies an even higher place in God’s eternal plan. Are you surprised? Don’t be. We’ll see that and much more in today’s life study of the Bible.

Today we are on Christ as superior to the angels in two ways. First, as the Son of God which means as God He was superior. Second, as the Son of Man, which affects us a little bit more that as a man He was also superior to the angels. And in fact, it shows us man’s place in God’s plan and how the angels are really our servants. So it puts everybody in their proper place. I think as our listeners know, ours is not a topical study of the Bible, we are really going book by book. And it just happens that today the subject matter does line up with a topic that is currently very much of interest to a lot of people Christians and non-Christians alike. So, I believe our listeners will be very interested to stay tuned as we are going to see angels from the Bible.

 

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Exodus (Program #89) - The Ark of the Testimony (6)

Christ, through His blood solves our problem with God.  The Bible calls this propitiation, a big word.  It may sound daunting, but it’s a most wonderful word when we get into all that it means for us.  Another related word speaks of the place of propitiation.  This is the place where God meets and speaks with man.  This place in the Old Testament was the Ark of the Testimony.  But to find this place today where we can meet with God and hear God’s speaking is the most blessed discovery for His people.   Don’t miss our final program on the Ark of the Testimony on today’s life study of the Bible.

Today’s word is somewhat of an overview or summary.  The Ark was, as we’ve discussed,  a piece of furniture.  Actually, the most important or preeminent item in the tabernacle.  As we’ve seen, basically it was a box.  A box made of a particular kind of wood, acacia wood and this box was overlaid within and without with gold.  We’ve much impressed that these materials hold a great deal of significance as we see the Ark is a type of Christ.  For just as Christ has two natures, human and divine, these materials represents these two natures.

 

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Hebrews (Program #6) – So Great a Salvation

You have to look at Acts 7:56 where Stephen when he was being martyred, he looked up in the heavens and he said, “I see the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God”. Our Savior Christ in the victory of His resurrection today is in the heavens and on the throne of God. But is He there as God only or is He enthroned also as a man?   We will explore this profound item from the book of Hebrews on today’s life study of the Bible.

We’ve been given two keys in the early programs of our life study of Hebrews: (1) river-crossers; (2) seeing so great a salvation. What are these two keys about and how are they connected? more…

 

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Exodus (Program #88) - The Ark of the Testimony (5)

God has a longing.  This might sound quite strange to our ears, but nonetheless, it’s the case.  His longing is to interact even to fellowship with man.  But how can man, saturated with sins enter into a sweet fellowship with the righteous and holy God?  For this man needs a way and man needs a place.   The way and the place for man to contact God are the focus of today’s life study of the Bible.

In the center of the tabernacle, the Ark of the Testimony resided with the 3 very significant items inside that we’ve covered.  These items are good material for bible school and Sunday school lessons and we’ve seen much rich details related to these 3 items.  To see the cover, the propitiation cover is so tremendous in terms of helping us entering into a deeper and more consistent regular experience of Christ.  Why is this cover such a meaningful item for us to focus on?

 

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Hebrews (Program #5) - Heirs of Salvation

So here in Hebrews we have Christ as the ladder, we have the joint heirs as the components of the house, and, we have the angels ministering to us as we are in the process of being brought into the glory of God. When we have all this, we have the gate of heaven.

Destiny is a concept that occupies many seeking people. As Christians, we may believe that our destiny is just to be saved. But Hebrews reveals that as saved ones, our destiny is to become joint heirs with Christ. We will explore our destiny and our inheritance on today’s life study of Hebrews.

We’re going to begin today’s message by seeing a comparison of Hebrews and Revelation – two books that are often avoided by many Christians. Why is it that many serious believers don’t like to get into these two books that deeply? more…

 

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Exodus (Program #87) - The Ark of the Testimony (4)

In the Old Testament, the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar to atone for the sins of the people.  This blood was a precursor of the real blood shed for sin, the blood of Christ.  But in the Old Testament, there was another use for the blood.  It needed to be sprinkled on the cover of the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies, where the crucial items was not sins but the glory of God.  The blood sprinkled on the very spot where God met and spoke with man is our focus on today’s life study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

We are going to look at the tabernacle’s outward configuration…

 

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Hebrews (Program #4) - Christ as the Son of God - as God Superior to the Angels

In the book of Hebrews, we see the vast superiority of Christ to everything, everyone and every matter in the entire old covenant. What could compare to Christ? We all know that there is an Old and New Testament (or covenant). Both have God and angels and many other godly items. But one is vastly superior to the other. We’ll look at this comparison from the book of Hebrews on today’s life study of the Bible.

We believe that the apostle Paul was the writer of Hebrews. Considering his audience at the time, why was it necessary for him to so meticulously build a strong case for the new covenant by comparing it to the old? more…

 

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Exodus (Program #86) - The Ark of the Testimony (3)

After giving Moses the ten commandments, Jehovah God continued to unveil the details and plan for the tabernacle.  In the center of the tabernacle was the ark, the preeminent piece of all the items in the tabernacle.  Over the place of the ark was placed a cover or a lid.  This very spot was to become the place, the unique place where God would meet and speak with man.  What does this cover represent today?  This holy spot, the propitiation cover is the focus of our life study today.

We are exploring the furniture in the tabernacle that God instructed Moses and the children of Israel to build.  In the center of the tabernacle was this most important of all the items and that was the Ark of the Testimony.  The Ark, simply speaking was a box, made of wood and overlay with gold.  Why are the wood and the gold significant as we look at the Ark?

 

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Hebrews (Program #3) - The Son

God has spoken, praise Him!   Without His speaking, God is mysterious. But He has revealed Himself in His speaking.  God is mysterious and this book of the New Testament, Hebrews, is mysterious as well. But God does not desire to remain a mystery to His created vessels, does He? How has He chosen to unveil this mystery to mankind?

God is certainly mysterious, He is invisible. Even John says “no man has ever seen God”. Also Paul mentioned the same thing - he said “confessedly great is the mystery of godliness”. But both of these writers also let us know that God can be known. First of all, John says “the only begotten Son has declared Him” and Paul says “He was manifested in the flesh”. So this mysterious God has been incarnated, He has come in the flesh, He has come in a visible way to make this mysterious God known. God became a man – Jesus Christ. So, this is one way which God has chosen to unveil this mystery to mankind, that is, by coming into mankind and also by His speaking. And the main thing we’re emphasizing today is that God is speaking; God has spoken. more…

 

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Exodus (Program #85) - The Ark of the Testimony (2)

The book of Exodus, the book that gives us the ten commandments is divided into two distinct sections.  The first section, 24 chapters is full of interesting stories, including the famous scene on Mount Sinai where God gave the commandments to Moses.  Most people stop at this point because the interesting stories seems to stop at this point as well.  But it is the second section, beginning with chapter 25 that holds the mystery of God’s eternal purpose for man.  It’s this section that we bring our attention to today.

Today we come again to look at the Ark of the Testimony as we are exploring the articles of furniture associated with the tabernacle as the Lord revealed to Moses.

 

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