11)
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for
which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12)
Saying, I will declare thy
name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him.
13)
And again, Behold I and
the children which God hath given me.
14)
Forasmuch then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part
of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil;
15)
And deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage
16)
For verily he took not on
him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
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I |
t goes without saying that anyone
with knowledge of bondage has been bound at one point in time. Those with this
testimony should, therefore, appreciate their freedom.
The most contemptible bondage one
can be subject to is that of sin. Unfortunately, most don't realize that it is
bondage. One who remains in bondage to sin does not
know what freedom is. Like one who has never seen light knows only darkness.
Many have been presented the full
truth of the word of God, yet have not made up their mind to accept it. Anyone
who is still trying to decide has no "frame of reference" by which to
decide. How can easily convince yourself that it is
the best. But until you experience the freedom of salvation, you will never
know that salvation is better!
In so many area
of our saved lives, we live miles beneath our privilege. The Lord gave His life
to secure our deliverance. Only after being delivered can one understand the
necessity of deliverance, and then "reach back" for someone else.
Although many believe otherwise, no
one can be led to salvation from the "outside"—that is outside of
salvation. Unless you have been filled with the Spirit (as evidenced by
speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance) and baptized in
Jesus' name, you have not experienced salvation and neither can you lead anyone
else.
When you decide to accept the
sacrifice of Christ and partake of His death, you must come to terms with your
own depravity. This is the only way you can appreciate the value of what it
took to bring you to salvation.
In that we have been "delivered
from bondage" we are now one with Christ. This means that we share a
common purpose with Him—to sanctify others. In that "sanctification"
is derived from the Greek word "hagion,"
which means "to be holy; set apart; consecrated to the service of God,
only"; we too, must find ourselves servants of only one thing—Heaven.
Perhaps one of the best examples of
the misuse of a sacred vessel occurs in the fifth chapter of Daniel where Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's grandson host a feast for his
lords using vessels stolen from the
All Old Testament temple vessels
were sanctified by sprinkling them with the blood of an animal sacrifice.
Today, we are sanctified to the service of the Lord through partaking of
Christ's death and being covered by His blood through baptism.
Commonly, the significance of
Christ's blood is misunderstood. The blood of Christ or any other sacrificial animal, signifies nothing more than death. The actual substance
that flowed from Jesus bore no mystical, magical powers. Rather, it is the fact
that He died and what was accomplished through the shedding of His blood that
delivers and works wonders in our lives.
It is time that we recognize that we
have the same anointing as Jesus allowing us to partake of His ministry—to make
others one with us in the Spirit.
To be "born again."
contrary to what many believe, does not mean we can remain sinful. Many
understand what Jesus did in taking "...part of the same" with us
according to Hebrews
Until the manifestation of Jesus,
the devil had a "trump card" to hold over mankind. That was the power
of death. Faced with this threat, we were compelled to protect ourselves or we
would die. Now despite the fact that Jesus has come and "delivered (us) from
bondage." man still attempts to preserve his life. No matter what we do,
what was true from the beginning remains true today: If God doesn't perform our
healing, we won't be healed. If God can't keep us, we won't be kept. If God
can't deliver us, we won't be delivered.
The redeemed of the Lord are to be
under bondage to nothing and no one, and the threat of bondage is not to move
us. The Lord wants us to know that if we do not live in His protection, we are
already in trouble.
It is the wise man who realizes that
Jesus is the only One who can "do." Anyone saved and still in trouble
is not allowing the Lord do in his life what He came to do: that is, to deliver
from bondage.
So, how "worthy" should Jesus
be to those who He has "delivered from bondage?" As worthy as we
are willing to count One who has saved us from being
tormented the rest of our lives.