Letter to the Hebrews Volume 88

 The Necessary Death of the Mediator of the New Testament Part 1

Hebrews 9:15 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. KJV Note: CEV=Contemporary English Version

The Hebrew people during the time of the Old Covenant or the Old Testament were prepared, prophesied to, and preached to continually by God the Father or Jehovah God or the Lord God during those days by and through His anointed Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Daniel, Amos, and others to look for the coming Messiah (our Lord Jesus Christ) who would replace this Old Covenant with a New Covenant written by His own Blood that would take away all the sins of the Hebrew people who lived during the Old Covenant, that is, would be the redemption of transgressors from the guilt and punishment of those sins which were committed in the time of the Old Covenant. Likewise, Christ sacrifice of Himself was not only to redeem all those who lived under the Old Covenant and looked forward in time to His coming, but it would redeem all in and under the now New Covenant who look backward in time to His coming and dying for the sins of the world. Therefore, we now find the writer of Hebrews declaring these words, "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) (KJV), to them then and to us now concerning efficacy, this meaning, the capacity or power to produce a desired effect and in this case, cause, or circumstance the desired effect of Jesus Christ death on the Cross at Calvary and His subsequent resurrection from the dead three (3) days later, and then His final ascension back to heaven many days later makes Him alone (John 14:6) the only way for sinful humanity to come to God. In Hebrews 9:15, the little English phrase 'the mediator' is translated by the Greek word mesitēs meaning a go between, that is, (simply) an internunciator, or (by implication) a reconciler (intercessor): - mediator. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ ushered in the New Testament and made the Old Testament null and void. His death opened up a new way of access to God for any sinner who would come to Him for redeemption of their sins and transgressions. The stain of human sin is so dirty and filthy and offensive to God the Father that there is but one cleaning solution that can wipe it clean from His sight and render the human sinner acceptable to Him and that one cleaning solution is the Blood of the Lamb, that is, the Blood of Jesus Christ.

When the writer of Hebrews writes these words, 'they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance', he means that all who come to God the Father through our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ receive all that was promised to Abraham and his descendants in the Old Covenant, as it is so clearly, completely, and competently written for us by the Apostle Paul with these words, "And because of what Jesus Christ has done, the blessing that was promised to Abraham was taken to the Gentiles. This happened so that by faith we would be given the promised Holy Spirit. My friends, I will use an everyday example to explain what I mean. Once someone agrees to something, no one else can change or cancel the agreement. That is how it is with the promises God made to Abraham and his descendant. The promises were not made to many descendants, but only to one, and that one is Christ. What I am saying is that the Law cannot change or cancel God's promise that was made 430 years before the Law was given. If we have to obey the Law in order to receive God's blessings, those blessings don't really come to us because of God's promise. But God was kind to Abraham and made him a promise. What is the use of the Law? It was given later to show that we sin. But it was only supposed to last until the coming of that descendant who was given the promise. In fact, angels gave the Law to Moses, and he gave it to the people. There is only One God, and the Law did not come directly from Him. Does the Law disagree with God's promises? No, it doesn't! If any law could give life to us, we could become acceptable to God by obeying that law. But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God's promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ. The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher. All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, and you will be given what God has promised." (Galatians 3:14-29) (CEV).  Here is what John Wesley had to say of Hebrews 9:15, "And for this end he is the Mediator of a new covenant, that they who are called - To the engagements and benefits thereof. Might receive the eternal inheritance promised to Abraham: not by means of legal sacrifices, but of his meritorious death. For the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant - That is, for the redemption of transgressors from the guilt and punishment of those sins which were committed in the time of the old covenant. The article of his death properly divides the old covenant from the new."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…