“Benediction”
[Hebrews 13:20-21]
May 11, 2014 Second Reformed Church
Last week, we looked at how we ought
to pray for the leaders of the church – and why we ought to do so. In this morning’s Scripture, the author of
Hebrews now turns to pray for the Hebrews in the form of a benediction.
What is a “benediction”? A dictionary definition is “Benediction is
derived from two Latin terms 'bene' and 'dicere' meaning well and to speak. It
is a short invocation term standing for divine help, blessing and worship” (http://www.ask.com/question/what-does-benediction-mean).
A benediction is something that is
said or prayed asking God for help and blessing as part of the worship service
– as part of the worship of God. It is
not merely decorative – it is not a piece of liturgical fluff. It has meaning and purpose.
In this benediction, the author of
Hebrews tells us:
First, God is the God of Peace.
Second, the God of Peace has given
us our pledge and assurance for the peace of the Church.
Third, the God of Peace enables us
to do His Will.
And, fourth, the God of Peace works
through us to do what is pleasing in His Sight.
“Now may the God of peace”
The prayer and blessing part of the
benediction is found as the author of Hebrews writes the word, “now.” This is what the author of Hebrews prays for
the Hebrews – the way in which he desires God to bless them – and the reason
why God is worthy of all worship for being the God Who can bring these things
to pass as He wills.
“Now may the God of peace”
First, God is the God of Peace.
Notice, this is a Name of God, it is
not a request for the peace of God. No,
the author of Hebrews is calling on God as the God of Peace in this
benediction. What does it mean that God
is the God of Peace?
Paul writes, “For God is not a God
of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33a, ESV).
God, the God of Peace, is, Himself,
not in any type of unease, confusion, or dismay. God is at perfect peace and harmony with
Himself – Unity in Trinity – One God in Three Persons in perfect eternal union
in every aspect of being – truly, perfectly at peace Himself and with Himself.
Again, Paul writes, “In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he
set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in
him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:7-10, ESV).
The God of Peace has made know His
Will working through Christ to accomplish our salvation, which is to be united
in the God of Peace – which we in every way would be in the God of Peace.
That is, we, through Christ, are
made to be at peace with ourselves through our being freed from slavery to sin,
and, ultimately, through being delivered from the ability to sin – as we are
glorified. We will be at peace in our
being, because we will only be able to do what is best for us, which is the
Will of God. We will do all things
perfectly in love and worship of God, and we will be in His Peace.
Also, through Christ, we have peace
with the God of Peace, because our sins are forgiven, and we are seen as holy –
progressing in our sanctification – in our becoming holy, such that we are no
longer at war with God – we no longer hate God – we no longer rebel against Him
in any ultimate sense – we have become sons and daughters – as John writes, “But
to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13, ESV).
Finally, through Christ, we have
peace with each other. As brothers and
sisters in Christ, we have been brought to peace with each other, so we no
longer see each other as threats, but as those we love and will spend all eternity
with in the Kingdom.
The God of Peace is at peace with
Himself, and He brings all those who are His – all those who believe in Jesus
savingly – into peace with themselves, peace with God, and peace with all those
who believe in Jesus savingly. We are at
peace now in the God of Peace through Christ and that peace will be a full and
completed reality when Jesus returns to restore the Creation – including us.
“who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal
covenant,”
Second,
the God of Peace has given us our pledge and assurance for the peace of the
Church. And we see that pledge and
assurance given to us in the next three clauses of our text:
“who
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,”
Notice
this is the one and only time that the author of Hebrews mentions the Resurrection
of Jesus, though it is implied throughout the letter. And here it is obvious that the author is
speaking of a real, physical resurrection from the dead. Jesus, Who was dead in His body – not in His
spirit or soul or divinity, was brought back from the dead – He was raised from
the dead – He was brought back to life in His physical body.
Joined
to His being a real human being Who died and then was physically raised by the
God of Peace, we have the use of the title “Lord Jesus,” which uses the word
“kurious” for “Lord,” which we understand in this context to be the Greek form
of the Most Holy Name of God first given to Moses by God.
And
so we see that God, the God of Peace, in the Person of the Father raised the
Lord Jesus – God the Son Incarnate in the Person of Jesus, the God-Man.
This
is a pledge and an assurance for the Church – all we who ever believe savingly
in Jesus throughout time and space – because if Jesus physically rose from the
dead, we also shall physically rise from the dead when He returns.
We
read, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not
possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24, ESV).
Why
wasn’t it possible for Jesus to stay dead?
“For
the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23, ESV).
Because
death is a result of sin – it is a punishment for sin. We all die because sin came into the world
through Adam: “Therefore, just as sin
came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread
to all men because all sinned—“ (Romans 5:12, ESV). But:
“For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews
4:15, ESV).
Jesus
could not be held by death, because only those who sin can be held by death,
and Jesus never sinned. And we shall not
be held by death, because Jesus took our sin upon Himself and paid our debt to
God for sin, so we are viewed as those who have no sin:
“Do
you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
“For
if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:3-5, ESV).
By
the Physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we have the pledge and assurance
by the God of Peace that we also will be raised in our physical bodies.
“the
great shepherd of the sheep,”
The
Lord Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep – He is not merely any shepherd,
but He is the Great Shepherd. And He is
not the Shepherd of everyone, but the Shepherd of His sheep.
As
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep” (John 10:11, ESV).
The
image of shepherd is the same as the image of pastor – one who leads, corrects,
and protects. The shepherd was called to
make sure his sheep survived and prospered in their being sheep. As Jesus explained to the Jews:
“Jesus
answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my
Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not
among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I
give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them
out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and
no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are
one’” (John 10:25-30, ESV).
With
Jesus as our Great Shepherd, we have the pledge and assurance from Him and the
God of Peace that all those who believe savingly in Jesus will have eternal
life – our death will be short-lived, and then we will live again, and no one
can ever take us out of the hands of our Great Shepherd. The God of Peace gave us to our Great Shepherd,
and we are His for eternity.
“by
the blood of the eternal covenant,”
What
is a “covenant”? Basically, a covenant
is an agreement between two or more parties.
Before
the foundations of the world, the God of Peace entered into a covenant with
Himself that He would create humans, who would sin and need a savior to be made
right with God again. And the Son
volunteered to Incarnate as that Savior, being able to do the good works of God
to merit salvation and, thus, being able to take upon Himself the sin of all
those who would ever believe that they would be forgiven and made right with
God by the Incarnate Son suffering God’s Wrath for our sin and physically
rising from the dead, victorious as the Holy, Innocent, Divine, Incarnate Son.
That
covenant was sealed by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross. For, as the author of Hebrews explains, “Indeed,
under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding
of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV).
Zechariah
prophesied the sealing of the Covenant of Salvation through the blood of the
Incarnate Son of God in this way, “As for you also, because of the blood of my
covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit” (Zechariah
9:11, ESV).
And
Isaiah wrote, “’For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my
steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be
removed,’ says the LORD, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10, ESV).
And
we might wonder how it is that the blood shed by Jesus, once on the cross,
would be able to secure the making right with God of every person who would
ever believe throughout time and space.
Although
we do not believe, as the Roman Catholic Church teaches, that Jesus’ blood and flesh
are physically offered up as a sacrifice every time we receive the bread and
the cup – no, Jesus was sacrificed once for all who would ever believe – we do
understand that the God of Peace has received and restored and recovered the blood
of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and His crediting of our accounts with His
Righteousness – with His perfect keeping of God’s Law in such a way that it is
the seal – the pledge and the assurance of the Church – until the end, that all
those who ever believe have been received as forgiven and holy through Jesus by
the God of Peace – and nothing can change that, because the Covenant is between
the Members of the Trinity on behalf of all those who will ever believe, sealed
by the Blood of Jesus – confirming the eternal covenant for us.
“equip
you with everything good that you may do his will,”
Third,
the God of Peace enables us to do His Will.
Now
that the author of Hebrews has identified and worshipped the God of Peace in
the opening of his benediction, he calls upon this God – he prays for the
Hebrews – that God would do two things for them. The first of which is that God would enable –
that God would equip – them with everything good – all that they need – to be
able to do God’s Will.
And
we wonder what the heretic, Pelagius, thought of this verse! Pelagius objected to the idea that we were
unable to do what God commands without God enabling us to do it. He said that if God command us to do
something, we must be able to do it. But
he was found to be wrong – hear what God says about our fallen, sinful ability:
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, ESV).
“The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand
it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV).
“as
it is written: ‘None is righteous, no,
not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have
become worthless; no one does good, not
even one’” (Romans 3:10-12, ESV).
And
the author of Hebrews wrote, “And without faith it is impossible to please him,
for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV).
We
can talk about “good things” that people do, but in God’s Eyes, anything that
is done outside of faith – anything that is done outside of one who has
received Jesus and His salvation – is sin – it is not acceptable to God. Our fallen inclination – no matter how good something might look to our
eyes – we cannot see the heart – if it is done by someone who has not received
Jesus savingly – God sees it as sin.
That
is why the Hebrews – that is why we – need God to equip us with everything good
that we would be able to do God’s Will.
We are not able to do God’s Will unless God first makes us and gives us
the tools, the abilities, the inclinations, to be able to do God’s Will.
And
so we read in James, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow
due to change” (James 1:17, ESV).
If
the God of Peace has chosen to save you – including you in the eternal
covenant, sealed by the blood of Jesus, the Incarnate God-Man, the One Savior,
Who makes us right with God through His Work Alone, then God, the God of Peace,
will enable us, as He is willing, gifting us and blessing us to be able to do
the good works that He has set before us to do – including obedience to His
Moral Law.
So
the author of Hebrews is praying for the Hebrews that God – the God of Peace
Who made them right with Him through Jesus – would give them all that they need
– that He would equip them – enable them – gift them and bless them – that they
would be able to do what is good in God’s Sight. God Alone enables us to be able to do His
Will – and it is a gift.
“working in us that which is
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ,”
And,
fourth, the God of Peace works through us to do what is pleasing in His Sight.
In
the second place, the author of Hebrews prays that God would work through the
Hebrews to accomplish the good works that He equips them to do.
Even
after equipping us with all we need to do good works in God’s Eyes, the God of
Peace do not leave us alone to sputter and fail in living lives of holiness and
good works, but He indwells each of us in the Person of God the Holy Spirit Who
works through Jesus Christ – through His blood and pardon of us – to do the
good works that God has called us to do in Him.
What
this is saying is that God is with us working through us, helping us to do all
that He has called us to do. Listen to
what Jesus said:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will
be in you.
“I
will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the
world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will
live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in
you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he
who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest
myself to him” (John 14:15-21, ESV).
The
Triune God Who saves us through Jesus Alone, equips us and lives in us in the
Person of the Holy Spirit, yet, we live in the Trinity and the Trinity lives in
us, enabling us and bringing to pass all that God wants done as we are led
towards holiness and our glorification on the day of Jesus’ return.
Do
not misunderstand: we are not taught
that we in any way become God or a part of God, but, in some way, God actively
lives in us and works through us to His Glory and to our benefit – something
that only believers in the Savior, Jesus, Whom God has sent, receive.
Paul writes, “Now may our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort
and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every
good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, ESV).
And, “for it is God who works in
you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, ESV).
The author of Hebrews ends the main
part of his letter by praising and worshiping the God of Peace and raising two
petitions on behalf of the Hebrews:
He
raises before them in praise the God of Peace – the One True God – Who through
Jesus and His Incarnation, Life, Death, Physical Resurrection, and Ascension,
sealed the Covenant which gives all those who believe in Jesus savingly the
pledge – that when Jesus returns our salvation and the peace of the Church is
secure.
He
prays for them in a way that exposes the detriment that sin causes us and the
Sovereignty of God in our salvation and perseverance – asking that the God of Peace
would supply all of His sons and daughters – those who believe savingly in
Jesus – with the ability to do what God has commanded and that God would cause
those good works to occur in us and through us through Jesus Christ and in the
indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
Surely,
God is Sovereign over Salvation and all that is good and profitable and
glorious in our lives!
“to
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
For all of this – and more – God,
the God of Peace – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are worthy of all glory
forever and ever and ever. May it be –
and may the Church say, “Amen.”
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You that salvation
is all of You – that You planned from before the foundation of the world to
save some of Your rebellious Creation.
We thank You for choosing us according to Your Will and for choosing to
make us exemplars of Your Glory – that others would look at us and talk with us
and see Jesus in us and through us. Be
pleased to continue to equip us and to work Your good works through us. May we be used as honorable pots for the work
of the Inexpressibly Glorious God to Whom we owe all praise and glory and
thanks forever and ever. In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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