Heb 5:1-4 “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” – Part 1

[Study Aired August 20, 2020]

Heb 5:1   For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 
Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 
Heb 5:3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 
Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Consider for a moment the context of the verses of this study we just read (Heb 5:1-4) in light of Hebrews 6:4-7, which reads:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

[We put Him (Christ and his Christ) to an open shame by not having our nakedness (overcoming sinful flesh) covered with His righteousness (Rev 3:18). Consequently we despise our birthright, symbolized by Joseph’s coat given to him of his Father that typifies our covering or the propitiation for our sins through Jesus Christ whose blood covers our sins (1Jn 2:2)].

Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

[It is God who clothes us or who does not clothe us, who gives us the spiritual increase to whatever measure He has determined would be ours from the foundation of the world (1Co 3:6, Rev 22:11)].

Both “gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb 5:1) have been ordained to be offered by men “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God“. The position of a priest of old like Aaron (Exo 28:1-3) typifies Christ, who is our high priest today, who was “taken from among men” and sacrificed for the sins of the world (Joh 1:29).

Exo 28:1  And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
Exo 28:2  And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
Exo 28:3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world [Gen 3:21].

All the amazing detail that went into describing what Aaron, who typifies Christ, would wear as a priest is found in Exodus 28:4-39 as well as what his sons would wear and Aaron would wear in regard to a “coat of fine linen” and “bonnets” for “glory and for beauty” along with “linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach”. These items of clothing remind us that not only our righteousness is not our own, but also the strength that is given to do the work of God is also a gift given from God as it was for Christ (Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5, Jas 1:17).

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

These items of clothing were put on both Aaron and his sons, typifying Christ and His Christ who, while he was in the flesh, did not wear all this priestly garb, but rather was adorned with God’s mind and had His spirit given without measure (Joh 3:34) so he could give us victory over “the law of sin and death” through “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1-3). It is by the grace and faith given to us from our high Priest now (Eph 2:8) that we can fulfill the will of God and put on “the Lord Jesus Christ” and endure until the end and be saved (Eph 6:10-19, Rom 13:13-14, Mat 24:13).

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit [Rom 8:14].
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death [2Co 3:17].
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

[“linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach” – Exo 28:42]

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith [1Jn 5:4, 1Ti 6:12], wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Heb 5:1   For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 

This first verse is speaking of both Christ (Heb 5:10) and His Christ: both the unction that we have of God (1Jn 2:19-24) and the role that Christ and His body play in being “ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins”.

Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec [this is speaking of Christ – see verses 5-9].

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1Jn 2:20  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1Jn 2:21  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

1Jn 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2:23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
1Jn 2:24  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father (Joh 17:3).

Both goats of Leviticus 16:8-10 complete the “sacrifices for sins,” and we are sent by our Father as Christ was (Joh 20:21, Joh 16:33) to overcome in this life and endure unto the end of this life (Mat 24:13) filling up what is behind of the suffering of Christ for his body’s sake, the church (Col 1:24).

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is giving us His life “that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins” and we know that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life (Rom 6:23). We see the blessing to which we are called to be granted to continue to abide in Christ (1Jn 2:24), and that blessing “is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life” (1Jn 2:25-28, Heb 10:35-39).

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Jn 2:25  And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
1Jn 2:26  These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
1Jn 2:27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you [‘no carnal man’]: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him [happening in the church (Eph 3:10)].
1Jn 2:28  And now, little children, abide in him [Heb 10:25]; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:37  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Heb 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith [1Jn 5:4]: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [1Jn 2:19]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity

G769.
Heb 5:3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

When we look more closely at this word infirmity,^G769 it will become clear how Christ, and each of us with God’s spirit abiding within us, “can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way.” In fact “for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity” is another way of telling us “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15-16). Keep in mind who is in need of a physician as we look at some of those entries I’ve highlighted below that describe what the word infirmity^G769 means (Mar 2:17).

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Rom 2:8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first [Rom 2:28, 1Pe 4:17], and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first [Joh 15:5, Rom 8:9], and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God.

infirmityG769 Astheneia as-then’-i-ah
Definition:
1. want of strength, weakness, infirmity
a. of the body
1. its native weakness and frailty
2. feebleness of health or sickness
b. of the soul
1. want of strength and capacity requisite 1b
c. to understand a thing 1b
d. to do things great and glorious 1b
e. to restrain corrupt desires 1b
f. to bear trials and troubles

Origin: from G772 (weak, infirm, feeble)
Strong’s: From G772; feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: – disease infirmity sickness weakness.

Total KJV Occurrences: 21
• diseases, 1
Act_28:9

• infirmities, 10
Mat_8:17; Luk_5:15; Luk_8:2; Rom_8:26; 2Co_11:30; 2Co_12:5; 2Co_12:9; 2Co_12:10; 1Ti_5:23; Heb_4:15

• infirmity, 6
Luk_13:11; Joh_5:5; Rom_6:19; Gal_4:13; Heb_5:2; Heb_7:28

• weakness, 4
1Co_2:3; 1Co_15:43; 2Co_13:4; Heb_11:34

Each one of us is in need of compassion because we have all gone astray and gone “out of the way” (Rom 3:23-24, Eph 4:32), and it is because of the mercy God shows to us through each other that we can learn how to be compassionate and merciful to others (Rom 11:29-33) “and by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins“. We must have an infirmity of sorts in order for His power to rest upon us, otherwise we will just naturally operate in our self-righteous flesh (Job 29:14) and not be found in Christ (Php 3:9-11).

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Job 29:14  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem [Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.].

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10  That I may know him [Joh 17:3], and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings [2Ti 2:12], being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead [Gal 2:20, Rom 5:10].

Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Aaron typifies Christ who bears “the iniquity of the holy things” (Exo 28:38), and because He bears “the iniquity of the holy things” we can be set free and overcome in this life (Joh 8:36) as we grow in His mind which puts us in remembrance that it is Christ who is doing this work in us, both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Php 2:13) as He bears us (Rom 11:18-21).

Exo 28:38  And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things [Isa 53:4], which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD [Eph 1:6].

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith [1Jn 5:4]. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

If God permit, we will go beyond the herbs mentioned in Hebrews 6:7 at the start of the study, that describe the blessings, the good things which God does for all “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” both to be understood within and without ourselves (Mat 5:45). Unless we are given the increase that happens when we partake of strong meat, we will not be able to fulfill these words from our hearts: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mat 5:44, Mat 6:14, 1Jn 4:20). Those God has ordained to go beyond herbs, or the milk of the word (Heb 5:14), are called unto this blessing (1Pe 3:9, 1Pe 2:21) that will leave us knowing that we are unprofitable servants who have only done that which was expected of us including being able to love our enemies and forgive them from our hearts (Heb 6:1-3, Luk 17:10).

Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

If we are going to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,” we need to be shown our nakedness (Rom 2:4) in this age and not despise God’s goodness being shown to the bride of Christ in this age so that we can be found in Him when He returns ready and without spot (Rev 19:7).

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to look at this unction or high calling we are pressing toward through Christ and consider the great honour that has been bestowed upon Christ and His bride-to-be (Heb 5:4).

Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Christ loves His bride, and God has fashioned her to be fit for Him to fulfill His purpose in God’s creation. God has given Christ a deep and profound love for his bride-to-be, who is being made ready to demonstrate to the world what true discipleship is (Mar 10:9, Eph 5:25, Rev 19:7, Joh 13:35).

Mar 10:9  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;