"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH,
1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION
Hebrews 1:1-2 "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son." The first fact is God. Without definition, argument, or apology of any kind, the writer names God. This Letter to the Hebrews advances the biblical view of God from the very beginning. The second fact is that God speaks and makes known His will to His creation. These are the foundational facts of true religion. Notice the interrelationship between the past and the present: God did progressively speak in the past over a long period of time in different ways by various prophets, but now He has spoken fully and finally in His Son. Men and women since then will progressively apprehend the meaning of this final speech, but will never exhaust its depth and profundity. Moreover, the interrelation is part of one whole. Only because He spoke as He did in the past was it possible for Him to speak in His Son. It also was necessary since all He had said beforehand was incomplete, yet apart from the first partial messages, the full and final message would have been incomprehensible. Biblical theology reveals the progression and wisdom of divine revelation.
Hebrews 2:1-3 "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.... How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" That salvation is well described in this chapter. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, "has been crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone ... in bringing many sons to glory." Why did He need to suffer death? Because we desperately needy human recipients of salvation are made of "flesh and blood. He Himself likewise took on the same so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." The Lord Jesus "had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of His people. Because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." In the midst of fear and temptation, however, we can drift away from keeping these truths central in our minds and hearts. The remedy is to pay attention now to this great salvation, and keep our faith firmly and perpetually fixed in it.
Hebrews 3:1 "Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." The surest way to pay close attention and avoid drifting from God's truth about salvation is to consider Jesus carefully. In this verse we see that consideration of Him is to be in two ways: as apostle and high priest. Jesus as the apostle of our confession marks the divine authority of His message. An apostle is one sent by God. Jesus's preeminence in this matter is shown by this chapter's comparison of Him with Moses and Joshua. Moses is described as a servant in God's house, but Jesus as the Son over the house. Moses led God's people out, but he could not lead them in. Jesus leads out of bondage and into the promised possessions. Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, but he could not give them rest. Jesus gives rest. Jesus is also the high priest of our confession, a concept we will see developed in several chapters throughout this Letter to the Hebrews. The emphasis of this chapter is on careful contemplation and attentive thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. How sadly we often fail here! This holy exercise demands time, method, and diligence. When faithfully practiced, it will help us from drifting spiritually.
Hebrews 4:14 "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens: Jesus, the Son of God." With these words the writer begins his more careful consideration of Jesus as the high priest of our confession. To his Hebrew audience the term high priest expressed the highest form of priestly service. The service of Jesus is higher still because He is the one and only great high priest "who has passed through the heavens." That statement is far stronger than saying He passed into the heavens. It helps us think of the Lord Jesus Christ entering into the very place and being of God Himself. We are told that "the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Yet because our great high priest is now where He is, we have no need to fear because "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." Indeed, in every respect He had "been tempted as we are, yet without sin." This chapter ends with the good news that we are invited to draw near with confidence "to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 5:6 "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." This is a quotation from a messianic Psalm of David, which means it is about the Greater David, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. His priesthood is described like that of Melchizedek, with emphasis on the word forever. Since our high priest is the Son of God, there is no end to the period of His priesthood, and there can be no successors. The quote from David's Psalm suggests that the nature His priesthood is not only that of dealing with sin, but also of sustaining life amid service and conflict. Melchizedek appears only once on the page of Hebrew history, back in Genesis 14. The patriarch Abram had been engaged in battle in the interest of righteousness. His service was wholly on behalf of others. As he returned victorious, the king of Salem (later known as Jerusalem) went out to greet Abram and to bless him, the only person we see serving as both a king and priest until the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The historical Melchizedek was a type or pointer to Christ, who is clearly revealed in this Letter to the Hebrews as the King of righteousness and peace. His priestly function is that of sustaining and blessing those who serve in the Kingdom of righteousness and peace. That should forever be a comfort to His loyal subjects.
Hebrews 6:12 "That you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Before delving deeper into the encouraging realities of Christ's priesthood, the writer turns aside to exhort his hearers to diligence, and to warn them against the deadly peril of apostasy. There are, in fact, several of these warnings laced throughout this Letter to the Hebrews, which the author himself describes as a "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22). Here he makes a contrast between those who are sluggish and those who are faithful and patient. Slowness and dullness is a condition of soul into which we inevitably pass if we fail in the utmost diligence. Unless we resolutely maintain our attitude of mental alertness to the greatness of our Savior, we shall lose the power to see, realize, and profit by His greatness. Faith and patience invigorate our diligence, working together since patience reinforces our faith and helps keep it operative. This kind of patience or longsuffering is active rather than passive. The cure for sluggishness is intentional activity that persists in conforming one's life and habits to the faith one professes. This chapter closes with intent focus on the unchangeable character of God, our refuge in whom we "hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place ... where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever."
Hebrews 7:25 "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them." This ability is based on two things: Christ's never-ending priesthood and our availing ourselves of it. The assumption of this statement is that it is only when men and women are near to God that the priesthood of Jesus is operative in all the continuous activities of Christ's intercession through which salvation is carried out to its consummation. "Not yet being perfect or having attained," to quote Paul in Philippians 3, we may yet remain near to God, who is the God of all patience. As that nearness is maintained, our high priest is the mediator through whom all the resources of divine wisdom, strength, and grace are communicated to us. Growing up into Him in all things, our saving to the uttermost progresses towards its completion, which is when we see Him face to face in heaven. Departure from nearness to God separates us from the operation of our high priest. That is a truth we must never forget. Standing alone, it is likely to discourage us, but the second truth stated here is that our nearness to God is through Jesus, our great high priest. Two phases of His priestly work are in view. The first is atoning. Through that we draw near and abide in nearness. The second is intercessory and perfecting. That operates as we are near to God through His atoning work.
Hebrews 8:6 "He is the mediator of a better covenant." That word covenant includes everything that applies to the believer through the priesthood of Christ. The writer used it once before in the previous chapter, where he describes Jesus as the "guarantor of a better covenant," explaining that "a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect)." The problem was not with God's Law, for that is holy, righteous, and good, but with us fallen lawbreakers (Romans 7). The New Covenant described here in Hebrews 8 is the fulfillment of the New Covenant promised by the prophet Jeremiah. God kept this promise: "I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.... I will be merciful toward their iniquities and remember their sins no more." This covenant is not like a contract, into which two parties have entered and which involves obligations and responsibilities on both sides. It is a testament or will made by One, in the making of which the other is not consulted, but the benefits of which that other can appropriate only as he or she fulfills the terms laid down by the One. The covenant between God and man that our Lord Jesus Christ has mediated is the disposition of God on behalf of those who have saving faith in Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God.... For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Hebrews 9:24 "Christi has entered ... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." This is the fact that made the New Covenant possible. It was the supreme act of Christ's priesthood, and it is continuous. The Son of God, in His glorified manhood, entered into heaven to be manifested before the face of God the Father. There, as a man, God beheld Him, and He beheld God. This was on behalf of His people. In His humanity ours was represented, our sin covered by His completed atonement, our imperfections canceled in His perfection, our weakness ended in His strength. We are accepted in the Beloved, and all the wisdom, might, and love of God are given to us through Him in the covenant God made with us. This chapter concludes that Christ "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him." The Bible concludes with Christ Himself saying, "Surely I am coming soon." The apostle John in the Book of Revelation responds, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with us all" (Revelation 22:20-21).
Hebrews 10:22 "Let us draw near." In Hebrews 7:25 above, we considered that the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ is operative only on behalf of those who draw near to God through Him. In these words we are called to avail ourselves of that privilege. He has opened up access to God! That very access is the supreme result of what our great high priest accomplished for His people. Everything that excluded fallen men and women from God has been put away through Christ. This is the significance of the Temple veil that was torn from top to bottom when Jesus breathed His last on the cross. What was once a symbol of man's exclusion from God because of sin suddenly became a symbol of access to God. The death of Jesus paid for the sins of those who trust in Him and grants them access to God at all times and under all circumstances. Therefore the appeal is not to prepare ourselves or make a way for ourselves, but simply to come, draw near, and enter in. This we do only through our great high priest, but this we may do through Him without hesitation or fear. We are then encouraged to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more as we see the Day [of His return] drawing near."
Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." This chapter has been called the Faith Hall of Fame because it describes the faith of godly men and women from the earliest pages of Genesis to centuries and millennia beyond, as recorded in Holy Scripture. The emphasis is not on their great deeds, but on their great God, whom they kept their hope fixed on to receive promised rewards beyond what they experienced in their lifetimes. They are a model for us today. Notice how Hebrews 11:1 describes this kind of faith: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." It is an intelligent faith. All the faithful heroes chronicled here, like faithful Christians in our day, have discovered by experience that what the Bible says is both true and compelling. That is crucial, since as verse 6 clarifies above, it is impossible to please God without that kind of faith. As we see, it is characterized by two essentials: believing that God indeed exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith like that will sustain us through all the difficulties described in this chapter and far beyond. It is the kind of faith Jesus Himself modeled for us in His days on earth, whom we are to focus on, as the next chapter now details.
Hebrews 12:1-2 "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." This running analogy begins with what we need to do to run this race of faith effectively: "lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely." God intervenes in the lives of believers to train them in holiness. Verse 7 describes that intervention as discipline: "It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.... We have had earthly faithers who disciplined us and we respected them.... For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." That was the consistent example of the Hebrews 11 heroes of faith, and now it is our turn to run the race of faith with endurance. They looked to promises from God; we look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We have seen the prophecies and promises of God fulfilled in Him. He is supremely the vindicator of faith in the promises of God. Now He, like us, awaits the final consummation, waiting until His enemies shall be made the footstool of His feet, but waiting in perfect assurance of the final victory. Meanwhile, we race with endurance and rest in our Lord's assurance.
Hebrews 13:20-21 "May the God of peace ... equip you with everything good that you may do His will." This is the ultimate prayer of the writer of this Letter to the Hebrews, written on behalf all who will listen and obey what God has spoken through His prophets and especially His Son (which is how he opened the letter in Hebrews 1). The equipment referred to here is every good thing needed for us to do God's will. Believers in the past believed God's promises and served their generations by the will of God. Now He speaks through the Lord Jesus Christ completely and finally that in Him the message may prevail in making those who hear and obey it fit for all life and service. In this connection the author refers to God as "the God of peace." That is who He is in Himself. It is only as men and women hear His Word and live by it that they can know peace. What did God the Father do to bring about that peace? The closing verses of this chapter tell us: He "brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant"—themes we have seen repeated throughout this Letter. In Christ the God of peace perfectly equips all believers in Him so that each may confidently say, "I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever."
