Hebrews 3:1
Part 1 – Holy Brethren
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews 3:1)
Before we begin our study in Chapter 3 in the Book of Hebrews, let me bring before you the beginning of the first few chapters: Chapter 1 begins with the Omnipotent God, we see the simplicity and yet the depth in the one word God, Chapter 2 begins with Therefore, this is the result of that which has been previously stated, even the cause and the reason. Chapter 3 begins with Wherefore, this is for what cause did He do it, or the reason for His action. God uses these three words to stir our spiritual being — God, therefore, and wherefore. As we open this chapter we can see in verse 1 a supernatural outline.
It is divided into four sections:
1. Wherefore, holy brethren
2. Wherefore, . . . partakers of the heavenly calling,
3. Wherefore, . . . consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession
4. Wherefore, . . . Christ Jesus;
The words holy brethren are only found twice in the entire Bible. Once in Chapter 3 of Hebrews, the other in 1 Thessalonians 5:27. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The Holy Spirit is treating these two words holy brethren as a relationship of holiness with a Holy and Righteous God. There is a divine holiness received by the believer at his new birth. There is also a practical holiness that the believer must maintain through his walk on this earth. To simplify this, we must press to do the divine will of God in our lives. If we press towards this mark then we will be walking in true holiness. When God the Holy Spirit inserts a word or phrase as holy brethren He wants us to stop, look over the horizon and examine the phrase, and where it is found in the word of God. This is for our own learning and for our benefit, and for the benefit of the brethren. Why should we be called holy brethren by the Spirit of God? We get a glimpse of this holiness and our holy calling in 1 Peter 1:15, 16.
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (1 Peter 1:15)
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16)
A young Christian is not told nor taught the Holiness of God; instead, he is taught a life of failure. We see that in the confessional as he confesses his sin to a mere man of like failure. This is not the holiness of God, this is substituting man for God and works for righteousness. Then we have the march down the aisle, week in and week out, the same wounded souls make their sorrowful journey down the aisle. He is told to confess his sins, but there again, in front of man and not to God. God wants us to come into His presence, and in the quietness of our hearts, and in the privacy of our closet confess our sins to Him. Then we will hear His reply to our heart, Be ye holy; for I am holy. This is not a suggestion by God, nor is it a request. It is a demand that comes from His righteous throne. If God declares that we should be holy, then this is His desire for all His children. The young Christian is not taught to refuse sin, but to merely confess sin. Would not we view this as an after thought, it would be better not to sin and maintain the holiness of God within us. Holiness can be seen in this way — true holiness standing before God is the glory of grace. God has put His Spirit in every child of God. Listen to His Spirit and let, through conviction, the words Be ye holy resound in one’s heart. We need to be taught to detect all sin, and when under temptation, let conviction run it’s course. If one falls to temptation, then we must confess that sin to God and not to man. For He is faithful to forgive us our sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:10)
Through my experience I have seen entire churches full of unsaved souls trying to be holy, and seeing their failures they justify their sins by confession before man and not God. Their world of religion is full of lies. For their spirit is not the Spirit of Christ; therefore, they have no power to be holy, for the Spirit of God does not dwell within them. World religion is controlled by man, his lust both dominate and controls the world church. The world church does not recognize the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is the true Church with Christ walking among the candlesticks. He is there to guide, and instruct His Church in knowledge, and wisdom, and true holiness. In the world church the Lord Jesus has been shut out of all, and replaced with the traditions of men; we have gone back to pharisaical religion and we have left the Body of Christ for the world of men. It is the Pharisee of today who determines the way and the how of worship for the child of God. This is why that voice within your heart, the Holy Spirit of God, whispers, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and be ye separate unto the Lord. Don’t think, for one moment, that this is popular in today’s religion. They want to control your heart and your soul. They do not want you to experience the freedom that is in Jesus Christ. They do not want you to approach heaven, and worship God and God alone. They want to capture your soul so that you never lose the burden of your sin. They want you to remain a hunchback with a huge load of sin upon you that you cannot bear.
The child of God is free in Christ Jesus. The Gospel is a gospel of freedom from sin, and not bondage to sin. The blood that was applied to the true mercy-seat of God was the Holy blood of Jesus Christ, and this blood gives remission from all your sins. Now, as a child of God, there is a holiness of walk and conversation. It is loosening the bands of the world for the freedom of Christ. This brings us to a standing before God in true holiness. We can never acquire the holiness of God in His Person, for God is Holiness and He is Righteousness; and this is the essence of His Being. Everything that God is flows from His Holiness and His Righteousness. The Holy Spirit writing through Peter declared that we should be holy before God.
The importance of holiness is the comparison that God makes to His own Holiness, Be ye holy; for I am holy. Throughout Scripture God requires man to respond to His Holiness. You could say, It is impossible to be holy! Then why would God demand such a thing from Adam’s race? Samuel speaking to Saul said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)
Holiness must come through obedience before God. As we are the children of God, the adopted sons of God, we have a standing before God as holy children; however, in our walk in this world we have the world, the flesh and the devil to contend with. God gives us His word in our defense against these enemies. He requires us to turn our backs to those things which are not holy. If I could not be holy in my daily walk then God would not require it, if I could not follow the Person of Jesus Christ then God would not require me to do so. God, however, requires the child of God to walk before Him and ‘be thou perfect.’ (Genesis 17:1) This was required of Abraham when he was given the promises of God, and God required him to walk before Him in a perfect manner of life. The Lord Jesus was given to us as an example to follow after Him, to live for Him, and to be His representative of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; He displayed the true picture of holiness. In 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 5, the phrase holy brethren is found at the end of the chapter; however, at the beginning of the chapter and throughout the chapter the Holy Spirit of God describes and instructs the child of God how to walk in holiness, these instructions aid in building holiness in us. The world might call it character, but God calls it holiness. I find it a wonderful thing that the Spirit of God takes the first 25 verses of Chapter 5 as verses of instruction to lead us to holy brethren. We should strive in our walk before God to be holy. I think that the desire to walk holy before God brings a true blessing in the grace that we have received in Jesus Christ. If we always feel that we are walking with God and that we are in His presence, then we will do that which brings forth holiness to our God.
Can we now measure up to God’s holiness? No. Why not? Because God did not become Holy, He is Holy and Holiness. Two times in the Scriptures we have the statement of God’s holiness, Holy, Holy, Holy is used once in Isaiah 6:3, and once in Revelation 4:8. In both these references we have the full Godhead before us, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
The first vision of Isaiah took place on earth; however, the Lord’s throne is suspended between heaven and earth by His glory. In this holiness God could not touch a polluted earth, polluted by sin. The example is the cleansing of Isaiah with the hot coals for he dwelt in a land of unclean lips. As God was suspended by His glory, His true holiness could not touch earth. Man or any other being cannot acquire this holiness, for it is He Himself who is all holiness. God is the purity of His own Holy Being. He is the blinding white light of holiness, and man can not define nor explain His holiness.
In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John in his vision is not on earth; he has been carried away and placed in heaven. He now looks upon the full glory of God and the fullness of God’s holiness. There is no purity test that can measure God’s holiness; His holiness is beyond measure and explanation. We see Him in Revelation being worshiped by all, as the thrice holy God, Holy, Holy, Holy. In Hebrews Chapter 3, verse 1, the Apostle mentions holy brethren, this is the Spirit of God addressing the brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ as they are holy. It is their holy calling in Jesus Christ. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,. (2 Timothy 1:9) The Lord has called us with a holy calling, and this is according to His own purpose, and the grace of God. He has called us because of the finished work of Christ before the world began. God saw us there as holy brethren in His Son. This is a good verse to meditate on, think this one through, for it is we who are saved by Jesus Christ. We have been called with a heavenly calling before the world began, and this was for His own purpose and sovereign grace. This verse in 2 Timothy is hardly ever read in the Church because of controversial thought and reasoning; yet, this verse has a panorama of thought. It is full of spiritual knowledge for those who have the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
We received our holy calling before the world began. It was by His Holy, Holy, Holy, or Holiness in His own purpose and grace. He called us by His heavenly calling to be saved by the grace of His Son, Christ Jesus. It was not because of our work, or holiness, but by His grace and His mercy. This brought forth the holy calling of God for those who would be born of His Spirit and become the children of God, According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:. (Ephesians 1:4) Ephesians Chapter 1 adds to this heavenly calling, once again we see the children of God were chosen before the foundation of the world. And that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. These are the facts that the Holy Spirit of God brings before us, and it is these truths that gives us a marvelous assurance of our faith. As God speaks He tells us we have holiness in God, and as Peter told us, we should have holiness before God. Our holiness in God was given to us before the foundation of the world, as holy brethren we are to walk before God day by day in His holy calling. This is our holy conversation before God. 1 Peter 1:15
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (1 Peter 1:15)
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16)
Is this the only request of God that we should walk holy before Him? No. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 we are considered as the temple of God. Our bodies in Jesus Christ are redeemed to be the temple of God, or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:20)
Our body is the temple of God, and we are not to defile His holy temple. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:17) These are sobering words from the Holy Spirit, if we defile the temple of God, and God has worn out the conviction of the Holy Spirit God, there is no other remedy but to take us home out of this world. Over and over, God tells us that we are not of this world. We no longer serve ourselves but the God of heaven and earth. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:20) We have all this before us by divine revelation of the Spirit of God. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, and we are the temple of God then what about the flesh? Well, if you can figure out the flesh, then let me know. For as Paul wrote in Romans 7 that we have an epic battle, we have the law of God which is holy and the law demands my death. I cannot measure up to the law of God because of sin which is in me, and that is the law of sin. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23) This law of sin is the dna of sin. It wars against the Spirit of God within me, so that the things I should do, I do not; and the things I do, I should not. There is a war of the worlds within me; both Adam and man wants to overthrow my spirit. When Adam walked with God, all was in harmony. Then when Adam sinned, all became chaos inside; his thoughts were changed, his reasoning changed, his wisdom changed, his emotions changed. He was totally changed, his outside glory was gone, and inside of him reigned the spirit of sin. In the most drastic way he was separated from all that was of God. He even gave his dominion and manhood away in exchange for sin. Just imagine the most violent tornado that man could ever experience, that would only be a small comparison to the convulsion that took place the moment that Adam sinned, and the battle began between God and man, and between heaven and earth.
This now brings us to man under sin, in which there is no escape. Man can only be changed by the creation of God. He must become a new creature in Christ Jesus, or he will remain in the clutches of Adam’s sin. Deliverance can only come by the blood of Christ, it is His finished work that has manifested God’s salvation. One must believe that He is, and that He is a Redeemer of man.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24)
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:25)
What about the battle within us? Did your flesh fall off the day that you were saved, did it disappear? Even though you are a new creation in Jesus Christ, it is quite evident that, like Paul, you carry your flesh around this earth. We expect that being a new creature in Christ everything will go well (not exactly)! We still have the outside evil battle of the world, and our own flesh as well. Let’s use an example, there is a family sitting at a table, the boys at the table are behaving, the father is speaking, and they are all intensely listening; after awhile the meal is finished and they go out to play. The father looks out the window and these are not the same boys that had been sitting at the table, because they are getting into all kinds of mischief. They are working against the father’s direction, they are going their own way. The father still loves them, but now he opens the door and yells out, Be ye holy; for I am holy. The Spirit of God convicts us of our failure in Romans, Chapter 7. As we reach our low and humble position before God, the Spirit of God casts the light of God upon us, and gives us Romans, Chapter 8, verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. As the child of God now walks with the Spirit of God, he casts off the childhood things and the things which no longer have their place in his life. As new born babes we drink of the word of God, and grow in the grace in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God leads us through the word of God so that we can defend ourselves against the spiritual chaos around us, and when we falter we can still hear the Father’s voice, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Without the grace of God we would not be able to experience the holiness of God. We would be without Christ, and without hope in this world. The grace of God is there for our holiness. For when we are saved, we are instantly holy before God; this is because of the finished work of Christ. This is the fullness of His finished work, when we receive grace, we receive the gift of holiness from the throne of grace. Then we come to Hebrews 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. If a child comes to his father and desires bread, will the father give him a stone? How much more will the God of glory help us in our time of need if we cast ourselves upon Him. If I come to His throne, will He turn me away? No. He will see me in true holiness no matter what cause or distress I am in, all because of my Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. This help is not limited, but has the fullness of God in it, so that my time of need will be answered according to His will and purpose. If we walk in the Spirit of God we will see our need of help at the time of temptation, and He will recognize our desire to cast ourselves upon Him. As we travel through life there are all kinds of temptations thrown at us by the world, by our own flesh, and by the devil. To avoid the end result of temptation, which is sin, one must be on guard at all times. This is our holiness of walk — to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. If we have a holiness that is eternal, and given of God, why must we walk before Him and be holy? We are God’s representative in this world. Sometimes the only thing the world sees is the grace within us, and the walk that we walk before them. If we walk in the same paths as they walk, then there is no difference. God wants us to represent heaven itself. He has called us out of this world to represent His glory in this world. He has chosen us in Christ to be an example of the children of God.
In all this, and in that which has been said, we are to walk before God and be perfect. For God is not slack concerning His promises. He is able to keep us, both in failure and in victory. He has provided His throne of grace to approach to in time of need. Let the Spirit of God within us convict us of the need of walking holy before God. That the heart may recognize the true throne of grace. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24) Amen.
© Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)