God comforts us by the oath He made to Christ, appointing Him our high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews has explained how Christ's sacrifice presented in glory has a transforming and liberating power for His people.
Hebrews next begins to describe the New Covenant as being a special type, as Christ's last will and testament. This is done in order to make clear how the New Covenant requires the death of Jesus in order to bring its promises to fulfillment for God's people.
Those promises are fulfilled by means of Christ's death, so that the beneficiaries might obtain their eternal inheritance – everlasting life, justification, forgiveness, and sanctification unto service to God.
According to the way wills work, the beneficiaries can only receive their inheritance when the testator – the person who wrote the will – is proven to be dead.
Hebrews points out: the will has no power or application until the death of the testator!
Likewise, the testament of Christ has no force until Christ dies. Before that, it is a solemn promise yet to be carried out.
The reason the New Covenant operates as a will and testament is that, in order for its promises to be carried out, Christ had first to sacrifice Himself in the place of His poor, sinful people.
God's promises under the old law, the old covenant, must be carried out. His mercy cannot contradict His holiness, righteousness, and promise.
God promised wrath for our sins. That was the old covenant.
But by His sacrifice, Jesus stepped into our place under the old covenant law and bore that judgment for us. He kept all the law for us, and by death paid all the promised judgment on our behalf.
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John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
