Letter to the Hebrews Volume 102

 The Death of Christ Jesus Perfects the Saints Part 2

Hebrews 10:13-14 From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. KJV

It is God the Father (who threw the devil out of heaven after he rebelled) who is waging war in the earth realm with the devil and his subordinate fallen angels who were cast out of heaven along with him. Defeating them at every turn preparing the way for the Second Coming of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ to make an end to all spiritual rebellion against heaven. The writer of Hebrews now makes this point by again quoting another Psalm of King David who first Prophesied this fact, as it is written for us here, "From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool." (Hebrews 10:13) (KJV). Christ Jesus sits at the Right Hand of God the Father awaiting the precise moment (according to the Father's will) when His return to the earth realm will occur precisely as it is written with these words, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Mark 24:29-31) (KJV). The English word 'expecting' is translated by the Greek word ekdechomai meaning to accept from some source, that is, (by implication) to await: - expect, look (tarry) for, wait (for). Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of Hebrews 10:13, "He waits there until this shall be accomplished according to the promise made to Him that all things shall be subdued under Him. There is an allusion here to Psalms 110:1, where it is said, 'The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My Right Hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.' The enemies of the Redeemer are Satan, the wicked of the earth, and all the evil passions of the heart. The idea is, that all things are yet to be made subject to His will - either by a cheerful and cordial submission to His authority, or by being crushed beneath His power. The Redeemer, having performed His great work of redemption by giving Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross, is represented now as calmly waiting until this glorious triumph is achieved, and this promise is fulfilled. We are not to suppose that He is inactive, or that He takes no share in the agency by which this is to be done. but the meaning is, that He looks to the certain fulfillment of the promise. That is, they shall be thoroughly and completely subdued. The same idea is expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:25, by saying that all His enemies shall be put under His feet. The language arose from the custom of conquerors in putting their feet on the necks of their enemies, as a symbol of subjection."

Jesus Christ and His willing offering up Himself as our substitute having the wrath of God poured out on Him in my place for my sin that He had and has no part in whatsoever, in doing so has made full and complete reconciliation for me with God the Father and has now made me a citizen of heaven. So, we now find the writer of Hebrews making this statement to the then newly converted Hebrew saints and to all we saints in every era and generation throughout time, "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14) (KJV). The little English phrase 'He hath perfected' is translated by the Greek word teleioō meaning to complete, that is, (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character): - consecrate, finish, fulfil, (make) perfect. In other words, the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ has done everything that there is in making us acceptable to God the Father by covering all our sin by His Blood (past, present, and future sin) before the Throne in Heaven. Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say about we Christians being perfected and sanctified, "In the preceding sentence there is another ‘for ever,’ which refers to the sacrifice of Christ, and declares its perpetual efficacy. It is one, the world’s sins are many, but the single sacrifice is more than all of them. It is a past act, but its consequences are eternal, and flow down through all the ages. The text explains wherein consists the perpetual efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice, and the reason why it needs no repetition while the world lasts. It endures for ever, because it has perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Now, in looking at these words, two things are noteworthy. One is the double designation here of the persons whom Christ influences by His offering, in that they are ‘perfected,’ and in that they are ‘sanctified.’ Another is the double aspect of our Lord’s work here set forth in regard to time, in that it is, in the first part of the sentence, spoken of as a past act whose consequences endure - ‘He hath perfected’ - and in the latter part of our text, according to the accurate rendering, it is spoken of as continuous and progressive, as yet incomplete and going on to perfection- For the text ought to read - ‘He hath perfected for ever them that are being sanctified.’ So there you have these two things, the double view of what Christ does, ‘perfects’ and ‘sanctifies,’ and the double view of His ‘work, in that in one aspect it is past and complete, and in another aspect it is running on, continuous, and as yet unfinished."

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…